The Bottle
by ILRPinkGirl
Summary: What if Glinda had immediately recognized the Wizard's green bottle? This story is still currently being written and was originally posted on WoO. Reviews are appreciated, I hope you enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

"Fine, go! You deserve each other!" Glinda could hear the hoarseness in her voice as she screamed after Elphaba and Fiyero, knowing that they had heard her cruel words. She watched helplessly as her best friend and her fiancé disappeared around the corner, holding hands as they ran from the scene.

Glinda whipped around, wanting to flee herself. _This can't be happening,_ she thought, _all of my dreams, everything I ever wanted, it's all come crashing down!_ She was feeling a wide range of emotions, including anger, jealousy, self-doubt, sadness, and guilt. But mostly, she felt anger. She let the emotion overpower her, the need for revenge. _Elphaba has just taken everything from me,_ she thought, _I wish she knew how it feels!_

"Here, have a swig of this, it dulls the pain," she heard a voice say. After what had happened, Glinda had forgotten that the Wizard still sat only a few feet away, having watched the entire scene.

"No thank you," she replied, not even bothering to look over at Wizard or the drink he offered her. She wanted to disappear, she didn't want to be here. And having the Wizard staring at her, watching her break down, was almost more than Glinda could handle.

Fortunately, Madame Morrible rushed into the room, offering some relief from the Wizard's piercing gaze. However, her choice of words immediately brought Glinda back to reality. "Is it true?" Madame Morrible asked joyfully, nearly bouncing up and down in her emerald green dress, "your betrothen has brought her into custody?"

_My betrothen._ Glinda let the words sink in slowly, blocking out the conversation the Wizard and Madame Morrible were currently having. She twisted the diamond ring sitting on her left hand, realizing what it had once meant to her. Now, she felt like it was worthless. It seemed to weigh hundreds of pounds, pulling down on her hand, keeping its presence known. She remembered how, less than an hour ago, she and Fiyero had been dancing at the ball, celebrating their engagement. _Not a care in the world_, she thought sarcastically. Sadness began to overwhelm the anger, and Glinda finally let a tear streak down her cheek, smudging her mascara.

But the sadness was short-lived, and the anger returned as she remembered what had happened only moments ago. 'I'm going with her,' Fiyero had said, gripping Elphaba's hand. Glinda knew that both were to blame, that Fiyero deserved some of the responsibility as well. But for Elphaba just to show up after years, and in an instant take Fiyero away…it made Glinda want revenge.

"Well we must smoke her out!" Glinda slowly processed Madame Morrible's words.

"But how?" the Wizard asked with angry frustration.

"Use her sister," Glinda whispered without missing a beat. She knew two wrongs did not make a right, she knew that she could ruin lives with this admission of information, but Glinda only cared about making Elphaba feel the same pain she now felt.

Glinda's whisper had been too quiet for Madame Morrible and the Wizard to hear, so the woman asked, "What's that, what did she say?"

Glinda was about to repeat herself when a glimmer of green caught her eye. A small bottle, only large enough to hold a small amount of liquid, was clenched in the Wizard's hand. At first, Glinda thought the bottle was green, but then quickly realized that the bottle was clear glass, and that the liquid inside was actually glowing a shade of emerald. The unmistakable color, the odd shape of the ridged bottle, it all resonated in Glinda's mind. She had seen a bottle like that before, she had even held it once, back at Shiz. Glinda wanted to write it off a coincidence, but something in her gut told her that there was more to the story.

Therefore, rather than revealing her less-than-honorable plan to the Wizard and Madame Morrible, Glinda chose to wait, until she could uncover the mystery of the bottle. "Umm, nothing," she muttered to the pair, "I, I seem to have a slight headache, I think I'll go lie down."

And without waiting for a response, Glinda rushed out of the Wizard's inner chambers, following the path Elphaba and Fiyero had recently used to make their escape. But Glinda was not about to lie down. Running from the palace, she knew there was work to be done.

Glinda rushed to her room, but had no intentions of laying down. She didn't even bother changing out of her pale green ballgown, despite the fact that it easily weighed thirty pounds. Glinda did take the time to consider removing her engagement ring, but decided against it. Although the symbolism of the ring seemed to have vanished, it provided a comfort to Glinda, and she knew she would feel naked without it. Therefore, Glinda only took the time to grab her wand before rushing back outside.

Even though it was nearly one in the morning, the full moon provided a considerable amount of light as Glinda stepped outside. She peered down the deserted streets, felt the cold night air whipping against her tear-stained face. Glinda took a deep breath, focused her efforts on the spell she was mumbling under her breath, and sighed in relief as the bubble appeared in front of her.

Although the idea for the bubble had been the Wizard's invention, it only came into fruition via Glinda's powers, and it certainly seemed to suit her personality. Stepping inside the bubble for the first time was extremely frightening for Glinda, as she feared it would pop at any moment. Glinda had also always been deathly afraid of heights, so seeing the ground so far below her own feet had originally been terrifying to the blonde. However, after a certain amount of practice, Glinda grew accustomed to the floating sensation, and now relied on the bubble for almost any form of transportation.

Without any degree of fear now, Glinda stepped into the large bubble, and motioned with her wand as it lifted off the ground. Before long, Glinda was hundreds of feet in the air, soaring over the vast countryside. Despite the darkness, Glinda could see acres of forest partitioned off by plots of farmland that seemed to extend all the way to the horizon. But everyone below seemed asleep as she glided overhead at a daunting speed.

About an hour into her travel, Glinda encountered a rain storm, but was not afraid. She had learned long ago that her bubble magically protected her from the elements, so she remained warm and dry as the storm raged outside her bubble. However, the rain did make it a bit harder for Glinda to maintain her intended direction, so the limited visibility slowed her down a bit. But before long, Glinda had moved through the storm and was back on her intended course.

After her long journey, at almost three in the morning, Glinda arrived at her destination. As she descended and finally reached the ground, Glinda dismissed the bubble with a wave of her wand, finally setting her feet back on the ground. Although physical and emotional exhaustions were starting to take over, Glinda forced herself to remain alert. She had the spent the last two hours pondering the recent events, which had worn her down considerably. She was still angry at Elphaba and Fiyero, she didn't feel like she could ever forgive them. However, her instincts told her that she needed to come here, that she needed to investigate further.

Glinda's feet seemed to know exactly where they were going, as they carried her inside the nearby building and up two flights of stairs. Glinda looked around anxiously as she entered a long, narrow hallway and paused: all the sights and smells felt so familiar, yet so foreign to her that it was mind boggling. Yet Glinda still knew exactly where she was going as she stopped in front of the second doorway on her right. She stared at the wooden door for a long time, almost scared to find what was on the other side. But slowly, she reached out her delicate hand and gripped the cold metal of the doorknob. Glinda heard the light _clink_ of her ring hitting against the metal knob, almost a cruel reminder of why she felt so sad and empty inside. However, Glinda pushed those feelings aside as she quickly turned the knob and pushed the door open, gasping at what she saw.


	2. Chapter 2

Staring at her old dorm room made the tears well up in Glinda's eyes once more, bringing back a flood of memories. She had felt reminiscent of her college days ever since touching down at Shiz University; however, going back to her old room took things to a whole new level.

As she had been told, the dorm room had been left intact, almost like a shrine to two of Shiz's most famous alumni. The room was untouched, as neither Glinda nor Elphaba had ever returned to the room to collect their belongings. When they had originally taken that long train ride to the Emerald City, the girls had packed up a few essentials, anything that would be needed for a few days. However, everything else had been left in their dorm room, as they had intended to immediately return. However, as fate would have it, neither girl ever came back to collect their belongings. Elphaba, although she had very few belongings to begin with, was forced to abandon them as she went into hiding, afraid that she would be captured if she showed her face at Shiz. Glinda, on the other hand, had every intention for returning for all her material possessions, but the Wizard graciously promised to replace them all, for she was needed for urgent work in the Emerald City: to uphold the title of Glinda the Good.

Glinda had forgotten about their dorm room and its belongings years ago, but the Wizard's green bottle brought the memories flying back, and being back in the actual room was even harder to deal with. Glinda carefully moved the velvet rope meant to keep students out, and walked into the center of the room. She saw the pink flower barrette sitting on her old vanity, and it reminded her of the time she carefully placed it in Elphaba's dark hair, proving how beautiful she really was. She noticed the bright pink dress laying on her bed, the one she had worn on her first date with Fiyero. She walked over to her bookshelf, filled to the brim with brightly-colored pairs of shoes. Many of the shoes were out of style now, and all of them had collected a considerable amount of dust. She admired them for a moment, realizing how important her footwear used to seem. Everything had changed now, accessories were a miscellaneous detail these days…

Glinda finally pulled herself from her own belongings and turned her attention to Elphaba's half of the room. It seemed clear that Elphaba had not returned since their first meeting with the Wizard, for her few items remained untouched. She slowly walked over to Elphaba's bed, admiring the simplicity of her roommate's taste. Straightening her skirts, Glinda plopped down on Elphaba's old bed, hearing the springs creak beneath her. She turned slowly to the head of the bed, and slowly removed the two pillows. There, laying on the bed as it always had, was the green bottle.

The bottle was always a point of curiosity for Glinda when they were at Shiz University. She had often seen Elphaba pull it out from under her pillow before bed, studying it when she thought Glinda wasn't looking. Once, Glinda even worked up the nerve to ask Elphaba about its origins, and Elphaba had been forthcoming enough to explain that it had belonged to her mother.

Now, as Glinda held the bottle in her hands, she wondered what the connection was between the Wizard and Elphaba's mother. As she had a long time to study the bottle and its liquid, she knew that it was too random to be a coincidence, for she had never seen a bottle like this in her life. There was certainly more to the story, and Glinda was determined to find out.

Despite Glinda's determination, she was unable to stifle her large yawn. Nearly four in the morning now, and after such a long and trying night, Glinda knew it was time for sleep. She slowly stood up and walked to her old closet, located a nightgown from her college days, and quietly changed. She shook her pillows and bedspread, removing any residual dust before climbing under the covers. Glinda did not fear being found, for the students were on summer vacation, so the blonde took one last look around the dorm room, closed her eyes, and let her mind wander as she fell asleep.

Galinda awoke only a few hours later, not long after the sun had risen. She peered around the room, admiring her shoes once again. She started wondering about which classes she had that day, and turned over in bed to look at Elphaba. Only Elphaba wasn't there. Glinda started wondering where her roommate had gone until she saw the pale green ballgown crumpled on the floor. She slowly remembered that this scene was only a ghostly reminder of the past, and that her days at Shiz were long gone.

Although she still felt worn down from last night's events, Glinda forced herself out of bed. Even though the students were gone for the summer, she couldn't be certain that a janitor wouldn't show up and discover her. She sat at her old vanity for a moment, brushing her hair and applying her daily dose of make-up. She considered changing back into her green ballgown, but decided against it. The gown was now dirty, and was too formal to be walking around in during the day. Therefore, Glinda apprehensively glanced into her closet for an appropriate outfit to change into. She finally decided on the cream-colored blouse and skirt that had once served as her school uniform. It was a little dated and out-of-style, but Glinda was rather proud that the outfit still fit her. She plastered on a fake smile as she stared at herself in the mirror, displaying an empty gesture of happiness. It was like a momentary time warp, being in her old dorm room, in her old school uniform. However, Glinda no longer had the same twinkle in her eye, and her face looked aged from the stresses of the last few years. _I look old,_ Glinda realized as she stared at herself. _Well, not old like Madame Morrible,_ she smiled to herself. But time had not been a friend to Glinda, realizing that her youthful glow had probably disappeared quite some time ago.

Finally pulling herself away from the mirror, Glinda reached down to pick up her wand and abandoned her beautiful ballgown as she left the room. As she pulled the door closed, she took one last look in the dorm room, taking a mental picture and letting the memories seep in one last time. Sighing lightly, Glinda finally let the door close behind her. She went back downstairs and out into the Shiz University courtyard, summoning her bubble so she could travel to her next destination.

It took Glinda quite a while to reach her next destination, mostly because she kept changing her mind. In an effort to locate Elphaba, Glinda kept trying to think of the most likely place to look. However, she quickly realized that Elphaba was far too smart for that, that she would be certain to go somewhere unexpected. After all, after being in hiding for all these years, Elphaba must be quite the expert at avoiding others now. Even after Fiyero dedicated all his efforts to finding her…

Glinda stopped herself. She found herself wondering if this whole time, he had just been looking for Elphaba so they could run away together. _I wonder if he had always planned on leaving me,_ she thought sadly, _if it was only a matter of time before I was abandoned._ Glinda made a last-minutes decision to land her bubble in a small clearing, for she needed to have a good cry. She had been so overwhelmed the last twelve hours that she hadn't really taken the time to let it out. So she sat on a large boulder and cried. She cried without holding back, knowing there was no one around to judge her. She bawled like a young girl, letting the pain wash over her body, hoping to expel it as best she could through her tears.

After about half an hour, the sadness, anger and pain had not left Glinda. In fact, it only exhausted her, which did not do anything to mitigate Glinda's emotional turmoil. However, Glinda seemed to have finally run out of tears, for she couldn't cry anymore. Her tear-stained face was now void of all the make-up she had applied earlier in the day, but Glinda didn't care. She slowly dried her eyes, returned to her bubble, and continued on her journey.

Finally, Glinda saw Munchkinland come into view. The blonde sighed slowly as she descended for a landing, both excited for and dreading her next encounter. As she landed lightly in the town square, she noticed a few of the Munchkins emerge from their homes, looking excitedly at Glinda and her bubble.

It was moments like these where Glinda hated her fame and notoriety. She wanted to run from the town square, to avoid the stares of the Munchkins. She always felt like an animal in a cage at moments like this, being pointed at and stared at like some strange science experiment. However, Glinda knew that the support of the Ozians was all she had, and it was the only thing stopping her from falling to pieces. So she chose to embrace the citizens, plastering the familiar fake smile on her face as the Munchkins approached.

"Look, it's Glinda the Good!" one of the Munchkins cried out happily, causing many others to emerge from their homes.

"Hello fellow Ozians," she offered up her most diplomatic greeting to match her façade of a smile.

"What brings you to our fair city?" one of the older, more regal looking gentlemen asked. Even with his two-foot-high top hat, he was still slightly shorter than Glinda, making her giggle slightly, which she immediately covered up by clearing her throat.

"Well, my dear friends," she continued while smiling, "I was hoping to speak with Governor Thropp."

The Munchkins' smiles were quickly wiped from their faces at the mention of Governor Thropp. "You mean the Wicked Witch of the East?" the Munchkin replied while cringing.

"Well…I…" Glinda tried to respond, but was stumped by their negative reactions. She wanted to correct them, tell them that the governor was truly a good person, but she reminded herself that the satisfaction of the citizens was the key to her popularity. So Glinda chose not to correct them, and instead asked, "So where did you say I could find the Governor?"

The Munchkin pointed to the large, looming house that sat on top of Munchkinland's highest hill. Glinda smiled at the Munchkin, and politely said, "Thank you so much for your kindness! I hope you all have a lovely day!" Even though the sadness and pain still coursed through her body, Glinda had been trained from a young age to put those feelings aside. Glinda continued to smile and wave as the Munchkins returned to their homes, and she walked off towards the Governor's mansion. She finally reached the front door, rang the bell, and waited for someone to answer.


	3. Chapter 3

Glinda reapplied her fake smile as the door was opened. She fully expected to see Nessa answer, sitting in her chair, but was surprised to see an older man staring at her, a grim expression on his face.

"Oh…I, um, I'm sorry I must be at the wrong-" Glinda started, apologizing profusely for having bothered the old man. But she finally took the time to look him over, noticing his formal stature and neatly-ironed uniform, and realized she was looking at the butler. _The butler, of course,_ she mentally cursed herself. Regaining her composure, she smiled at the man once more and started again, "Good day to you, I am Glinda the Good, and I am here to see Governor Thropp."

"Do you have an appointment?" he asked in a bored monotone.

"I'm afraid I don't, but we used to go to school together, and I was hoping if you could let her know I'm here, that mayb-"

"Come in," he interrupted Glinda with a sigh, taking a step back so that she could enter.

Glinda chose to ignore the butler's rudeness and stepped inside the house, admiring the vaulted ceilings of the large foyer. _So this is where Elphaba grew up,_ Glinda thought as she looked around the grand entryway, trying to imagine Elphaba living here. But she couldn't. Pictures of the green girl were nowhere to be found, which did not surprise Glinda in the least. However, what she did find surprising was the stark difference between Elphaba's taste and the rest of her family's. While Elphaba had always been very simple, with few possessions, this house was the absolute opposite. An expansive chandelier hung over Glinda's head, with crystals glimmering as they picked up the light emitting from the flower-shaped bulbs. Ornate murals were painted across the walls that stretched all the way from the ceiling to the marble floors. The butler unceremoniously pushed Glinda though a pair of gilded doors that led to a parlor, complete with furniture featuring overstuffed cushions.

"Wait here," the butler replied and quickly disappeared. Glinda sat down in a poufy armchair, looking around the room. In general, it was more of the same overindulgence of items that she noticed in foyer. _Even worse than my family's house,_ Glinda thought, remembering that material possessions were a high commodity back when she was known as Galinda Upland. She looked over the fireplace and stared at the large oil painting of Nessarose. The woman in the painting seemed to stare down at Glinda, judging her, so Glinda quickly looked away. As she turned her head, Glinda also noticed Nessa's wheelchair sitting in the corner, collecting dust. Glinda stood, about to go study the chair with a degree of confusion. However, before she could take a step, she felt frozen to the spot as she heard footsteps behind her. She expected to see the butler standing behind her, returning to inform Glinda that the Governor wouldn't see her. However, she was shocked when she turned around and saw who was standing in front of her.

"Nessa!" Glinda cried out, staring eye-level at Nessarose. "Nessa, you're walking!" Glinda cried incredulously, staring at the governor with wide eyes.

"How perceptive," Nessa said coldly, then stopped to smirk as she looked Glinda up and down, taking special notice of her school uniform and smudged make-up. "You're looking fabulous Galinda," she threw in some sarcasm for good measure, "or did I hear that it's just Glinda now?"

Glinda was taken slightly aback by Nessa's rudeness, but decided she must simply be imagining things. "Oh, yes, it's Glinda these days," she threw in a giggle to lighten the mood. However, the stark frown did not waver from Nessa's face, which really began to worry Glinda. _Wow, maybe I should have just stuck with the butler_, she thought sarcastically, knowing she could handle his bored monotone better than Nessa's rude, cold behavior. "So Nessa, how is it that you're walking? The last time I saw you, you were stuck in that," Glinda said, pointing at Nessa's old wheelchair.

"What, so you can change your name, but it's not okay that I changed?" she almost yelled at Glinda, forcing the blonde to take a step back.

"Oh, I…I didn't mean anything by it," Glinda muttered, not knowing why her simple question had angered Nessa so greatly.

"Well," Nessa sighed, "if you must know, this was Elphaba's doing," Nessa finally responded, pointing at her feet. Glinda looked down at the ruby-red slippers Nessa was wearing, sparkling against the dim light of the fireplace. Glinda thought they were vaguely familiar, like a pair of shoes Nessa had worn back at Shiz, but Nessa moved before Glinda could study them more, moving into the parlor and sitting on the large sofa. Accordingly, Glinda moved back into the parlor, sitting in the chair facing Nessa.

"So," Glinda started, trying to sound as casual as possible, although she was nearly dying inside, "you said Elphaba did that? Have you…have you seen her recently?"

"Not in a few days," Nessa sighed with little interest, making Glinda's heart sink. She had hoped against all hopes that Elphaba had been here since leaving with Fiyero, but Glinda knew that was unlikely.

"So you don't know where she is?" Glinda inquired.

"Do I look like her babysitter?" Nessa replied sarcastically, not even bothering to look at Glinda as she spoke now. Instead, she chose to admire her own portrait hanging above the mantle, causing Glinda to roll her eyes. "I am the governor, you know," she continued with a bit of anger in her voice, "I have much more important things to do than look after my sister, or chat with some blonde bimbo I haven't seen in years."

Despite her upbringing, despite being taught to control one's emotions in front of others, Glinda was on her feet now. "Nessa what is your problem? I came here to visit you and all you can do is throw insults at me!"

Nessa rose to match Glinda, standing only inches away, "You are my problem!" she spat at Glinda, throwing eye daggers at the blonde. Although Glinda had no idea what was happening, she knew that a fight between Governor Thropp and Glinda the Good was about to take place.

"Well Nessa," Glinda started, "maybe you should enlighten me, because I can't imagine what in Oz I could have to done to anger you so!" Glinda tried to keep her voice steady as she spoke, tried not to take a step away from Nessa. She was petrified of the woman staring in front of her, but she knew that showing weakness was not an option.

"You took from me the only thing I ever wanted!" Nessa yelled, and Glinda could see the tears welling up in her eyes.

However, Glinda did not appreciate being attacked for no reason, and was not feeling particularly merciful. "And tell me Nessa, what did I take from you?"

"You took Boq from me!" Nessa cried out, finally letting a tear streak down her face.

Glinda had prepared to come back yelling, but was taken by surprise at Nessa's response and even more surprising display of emotion.

"Wha, what do you mean?" Glinda asked more quietly, "I haven't even seen Boq since that day at the train station at Shiz, and that was years ago!"

Nessa began to dissolve into tears now, crumpling to the floor as if her ability to walk had suddenly diminished. "He left me Glinda," she whispered between tears.

"When?" Glinda asked, crouching down to look Nessa in the eye.

"About a week ago," she sighed. "He heard that you were engaged, and he felt the need to declare his undying love for you," she managed some annoyance and sarcasm despite her sadness and emotion.

"Nessa, I'm sorry to hear about Boq, but I just don't think he was the one for you." Glinda had no sooner than finished her sentence when she felt the hot smack of Nessa's hand hit her cheek. As if by reflex, Nessa quickly recoiled into her fit of tears and Glinda put her hand up to her cheek, feeling her skin burning. "I can't believe you just did that!" Glinda yelled. "Look Nessa, I'm sorry he left you, but that's not my fault! Clearly he was just following his heart."

Nessa laughed in between sobs at the mention of his heart, but Glinda didn't stop to ask, for she was mad now. In fact, she was infuriated that Nessa would take this out on her. "Nessa, you had no right to hit me, I didn't do anything wrong! And I'm sure Boq didn't mean to hurt you either, no one can choose who they do and don't lov-"

Glinda stopped just before finishing her sentence. _Sweet Oz,_ she thought to herself, _I know how she feels._ The epiphany hit Glinda so suddenly, but she couldn't believe she hadn't realized it before: _what Boq did to Nessa is exactly what Fiyero did to me._ And as much as she still wanted to hate Fiyero and Elphaba for what they did, she now saw the other side of the story, she realized what it felt like to be the other woman. Glinda stared at Nessa and saw herself, crying in a bout of pity and self-doubt. At that moment, Glinda realized that she and Nessa had everything in common, that they were sharing the exact same pain.

Although her cheek still burned from Nessa's slap, Glinda sat on the ground and threw her arms around Nessa. "Shhhh, it's alright Nessa, it's going to be alright." She said the words in an effort to be comforting, but she knew it was an empty promise. She had no idea if everything was going to be okay, for now they were only two women, lost and alone. _Alone together._ At that moment, Glinda burst into tears as well, mourning her loss as well as Nessa's. The two women sat there for a long time, crying as they hugged, sharing each other's pain, knowing that they would need each other to overcome this obstacle.


	4. Chapter 4

Glinda and Nessa spent the rest of the day together. They laughed, they cried, they shared stories from the last five years. And occasionally, the pair shared stories that stretched even further back, before their days at Shiz. Although Glinda had always considered Nessa to be a friend at school, she didn't realize until today how little she actually knew about her.

"…and that was the first time Elphaba and I liked the same boy," Nessa laughed as she finished the story of the sisters' grade-school crush.

Glinda laughed along, but her eyes couldn't hide what she was really thinking. _If only I could laugh about the first time Elphaba and I liked the same boy._ Although her hatred for Elphaba and Fiyero had somewhat subsided after her emotional breakthrough, it certainly didn't mean the pain was gone. In fact, without the anger and rage to mask it, the sadness seemed even more ever-present than before.

"It would probably help if you talked about it." Nessa's voice pulled Glinda out of her thoughts, and she realized that the expression on her face must have said it all. And as much as she didn't want to talk about it, as much as she and Nessa had tried to avoid the conversation, she knew it was time to talk about Fiyero and Boq.

"Well there's not really much to say," Glinda sighed, staring off at the dancing flames in the fireplace. "We were engaged to be married, and then Elphaba showed up, and Fiyero decided he'd rather be with her." Glinda finished the sentence quickly, as if rushing through it would make things less painful.

Nessa put a hand on Glinda's shoulder, obviously showing her support, "But it can't be that simple, can it? I mean, one day the two of you were happy and engaged, and the next day he didn't want to stay?"

"Yes!" Glinda quickly responded, a little defensively. "Well, I mean, we had fights sometimes, but every couple has fights." She thought back to their engagement party, how he'd stormed off after the horrible things the citizens said about Elphaba. She remembered the exact look on his face when he said 'If it makes you happy, of course I'll marry you.' She knew it then, but she couldn't admit it to herself until now. "He always loved Elphaba," she finally sighed, letting a tear form in the corner of her eye. "I mean, we cared about each other of course, but I always knew that he wanted to be with Elphaba, not me…" she trailed off the end of her sentence. It felt odd saying it out loud, admitting what she had always known to be the truth. She expected it to be painful, anticipated feeling a sharp pain in her heart. But surprisingly, it felt somewhat calming and relieving, like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She stared at the diamond ring on her finger, and realized it would be a long time before the pain completely diminished. But she knew that this was a good beginning, and that the healing could begin.

Glinda wiped her eyes and turned to Nessa, looking her in the eye. "So what happened with you and Boq?" she asked quietly, hoping that the inquiry would not anger Nessa.

Fortunately, Nessa remained calm as she began her story. "I always knew he loved you," she said, smiling at Glinda, "even back at Shiz I knew it. So when I became governor, I brought him here, to help take care of me. I knew he didn't want to be here, so I even passed laws to limit Munchkin rights," she laughed, knowing how stupid and desperate she had been. Glinda nodded in understanding, now realizing why the citizens of Munchkinland were so angry at Nessa. "Anyway," she continued, "Elphaba showed up one day looking for help, and she was able to make me walk," she said pointing at her ruby-encrusted shoes. "I was so thrilled to show Boq, and he looked so happy," the smile faded from Nessa's face as he continued, "but he thought, since I could take care of myself now, that he could leave to find you." She got quiet, becoming emotional and obviously struggling to continue.

"So what happened?" Glinda asked quietly.

"I tried to stop him," she muttered, "but I couldn't. He left." Nessa was very short with her answer, as if she were leaving something out. But Glinda saw that Nessa was on the brink of another breakdown, and didn't want to push her.

Nessa let out a small laugh, with a bit of a cruel undertone, "It seems that my sister has been destroying relationships wherever she goes."

"She never meant any harm," Glinda sighed. She wanted to be mad at Elphaba too, but she had to be realistic, and didn't want to further the rift between Nessa and Elphaba. However, Glinda knew it would be a long time before she or Nessa healed their relationships with Elphaba.

Glinda stayed silent for a while, weighing her options. She'd been meaning to pull the small item out of her purse for quite a while, but was waiting for the right time. However, Glinda realized that, in a situation like this, there was no such thing as a 'right time'. So Glinda turned around to grab her purse and delicately pulled out the green bottle.

"Nessa, do you recognize this at all?" Glinda asked quietly, handing her the bottle of green liquid.

"Oh sure," Nessa said quickly, studying the bottle, "Elphaba used to carry it around all the time."

"She said it belonged to your mother," Glinda offered.

"Yeah, that's what I had always been told too. Obviously I don't remember anything about her, since she died giving birth to me."

"Oh, yeah," Glinda said, feeling guilty for bringing up that sad fact. "But Elphaba never told you anything about the bottle? Like where your mother got it?"

"Why do you care so much about this bottle?" At first, Glinda thought Nessa was being critical and judgmental, but it turned out she was being genuinely inquisitive.

Glinda had already thought it over, and decided that she could confide in Nessa. "Well a bottle like this is really rare, I've never really seen anything like it before."

"Same here, I think it's one-of-a-kind." Nessa agreed.

"Not exactly," Glinda sighed. "I was speaking with the Wizard the other day, and he offered me a drink from the exact same bottle!"

"Wow, what a strange coincidence," Nessa shrugged, shaking the bottle a bit as she continued to study it.

"Is it though?" Glinda asked. "I can't help but wonder if there's more to the story than that."

"What makes you think that?"

"I don't know," Glinda sighed, "just a feeling that I have."

"Well what would be the connection between my mother and the Wizard of Oz?" Nessa asked incredulously.

"I have no idea, I was hoping you'd have some answers," Glinda said quietly, realizing that Nessa had even less information than expected.

"Well, some of my mother's old things are stored in the attic, maybe those would be helpful."

Glinda nodded in agreement, and the women slowly made their way up to the attic, looking for the answers Glinda desperately sought.

Nessa led Glinda out of the parlor and up the marble staircase that curved around the edge of the vast foyer. Glinda rushed up the stairs behind Nessa, listening as their heels clacked against the marble stairs, echoing in the cavernous room. Glinda tried to take in more of the decorum on the second floor, but Nessa was moving quickly, and Glinda had to jog to keep up. The women moved through the mansion's eastern wing for some time, walking to the end of the expansively long hallway. At the end stood a small door that Nessa stopped in front of, grabbing the handle. Glinda noticed that this door stood in stark contrast to the rest of the mansion: while everything else screamed elegance and perfection, the attic door was comprised of knotted, rotting wood. _I bet Elphaba spent a lot of her time up here,_ Glinda thought with a smirk, finally seeing something in the mansion that fit Elphaba's personality.

Nessa pulled on the door's handle, letting the poorly-oiled hinges creak as the door slowly swung open. Glinda peered around Nessa, trying to see what was in front of them, but found very little: she could see three stairs that looked as poorly maintained as the attic door, and the remainder of the stairs were completely enveloped in darkness.

"Umm Nessa," Glinda started with apprehension, "I can't see a damn thing up there, and those stairs look about as strong as Fiyero's and my relationship."

Nessa laughed, and Glinda found herself giggling too. _I can't believe I'm already able to make jokes about this,_ she smiled as she felt herself healing ever-so-slowly, but quickly returned to the subject of the stairs.

"I mean, is this safe?" Glinda asked, looking Nessa in the eye.

"Well in terms of the darkness, I've got a lantern," Nessa smiled, pointing to the object sitting just inside the door. "And as for the stairs…I'm not sure. I obviously couldn't get up these stairs until recently, and I haven't tried yet."

This did nothing to calm Glinda's nerves, but she nodded as Nessa picked up and lit the lantern, moving slowly up the stairs. With the help of the lantern, Glinda could now see a set of steep, rickety stairs that led to the attic. Slowly, the women began to climb the stairs, listening as the wood groaned beneath their feet. Glinda could even feel the wood depress slightly under her, but seemed to carry her weight.

They had almost made it to the top of the stairs when the heel of Nessa's right shoe got caught in a knot of the wood, causing the shoe to slip off her foot. Without the help of the ruby-encrusted shoe, Nessa crumpled to the floor with a loud thud.

"Nessa, are you alright?" Glinda asked in a panic, trying to help Nessa up.

"I think so, I just need my shoe," she stammered, obviously frightened by the mishap.

It wasn't until then that Glinda realized how powerful Elphaba's magic was, and how much Nessa relied on these shoes. Glinda bent down to pick up the shoe, and was surprised that it felt hot in her hands. Glinda could feel the magic emitting from the shoe, reminding her how Elphaba was always the better one at magic. She slipped the shoe back onto Nessa's foot, and the woman immediately regained her footing without help.

"Thanks," Nessa sighed, obviously very embarrassed by her dependency. Glinda wanted to comfort Nessa, tell her that it was okay, but Nessa quickly rushed up the last few stairs, wanting to avoid the topic altogether. So, out of respect, Glinda kept quiet as she climbed the last few stairs, finally noticing the large room full of boxes and dusty furniture.

"Wow, there's a lot of stuff up here," Glinda observed, looking around the large attic.

"Yeah, my father moved a lot of stuff up here after I was born, it reminded him of my-" Nessa tried to finish her sentence, but was reduced to a fit of coughing.

"Are you okay?" Glinda asked, turning to face Nessa.

"Yeah," she was able to respond between coughs, "all the dust..."

Glinda's eyes finally began to adjust to the large room, and she was finally able to make out some details. Ornate furniture was scattered throughout the room, most of it still in pristine condition if you ignored the dust. A large painting leaned against the far wall, and Glinda assumed that it had to be a portrait of Elphaba's and Nessa's mother. The woman looked genuinely happy in the portrait, her twinkling eyes matching her infectious smile. Even Glinda couldn't help but stifle a grin, noticing how much both Nessa and Elphaba resembled their mother.

Glinda finally removed her attention from the portrait, and studied the rest of the room. Boxes of miscellaneous shapes and sizes filled up any empty space in the attic, probably totaling over two hundred in all. Fortunately, the contents of each box seemed to be neatly labeled, which made searching for a certain item much less tedious. Unfortunately, Glinda had no idea what she was looking for, and let out a sigh of frustration.

"Glinda," Nessa said hoarsely, "going downstairs…too much dust…" Nessa's dust allergy was obviously too much to handle, and she quickly shuffled over to the stairs, trying to stifle her coughs. Before she left the attic, Nessa turned and pointed to a small group of boxes and managed to emit the words, "start…with…those" before running down the stairs.

Glinda moved towards the group of three boxes Nessa had pointed to, and read the labels. One box was titled _Letters_, the second contained _Pictures_, and the third box held _Melena's Books_.

"Well, I guess it's as good of a place to start as any," Glinda sighed, dusting off a nearby chair so she could sit down.

Opening up the box of letter first, Glinda was surprised to see a disorganized mass of papers sitting in the box, both old and new. First, she found a love letter, obviously something that Frex had written Melena while they were dating. It read:

_My Dearest Melena, _

_I am sorry my responsibilities as the future governor of Munchkinland have kept us apart so much. But please know that you're in here in my heart while I'm out of your sight. I love you so much, and I know things will get easier once I'm the governor, and we can finally be together. You can't deny it Melena, we're perfect together._

Glinda stopped reading, stuck on those last three words. _We're perfect together_. Glinda remembered when Fiyero used to say that to her, that they were perfect together. _Back when we thought we were perfect_, she sighed. Now much older and wiser, Glinda had realized that she and Fiyero were very flawed individuals. Beautifully flawed in her opinion, but flawed nevertheless. Part of her wanted to cry again, but Glinda knew she needed to fight those urges, needed to move on. So Glinda put down the love note, moving to the next note in the box. This was a birthday card, one that said "Happy Birthday Sister!" in bold letters across the front. Opening the card, Glinda smiled to see that it was give to Elphaba from Nessa when they were both very young. The note had been scribbled in green crayon, barely legible, but Glinda could make out "Hapy Birtday Elphaba!" Glinda laughed at Nessa's misspellings and poor handwriting, but it made her realize how close Elphaba and Nessa must have been as young girls.

Setting the birthday card aside, Glinda picked up a third letter, one written on a piece of cream-colored parchment with meticulously neat handwriting. It only took Glinda a moment to realize that Elphaba had written the letter, and quickly started reading:

_My Dear Father,_

_There's been some confusion over rooming here at Shiz. But of course I'll care for Nessa for I know that's how you'd want me to respond. Yes, there's been some confusion for you see my roommate is…blonde. I completely loath her father! Everything about her, especially that high-pitched voice of hers! She thinks she's perfect and that she's better than everyone else, and I…_

Glinda stopped reading. She was able to pinpoint exactly when this letter was written, for she had written a similar letter to her parents when she and Elphaba first became roommates. Her letter had been oddly similar, writing home to complain about Elphaba's horrible taste in clothing, her face, and her indescribable distaste for her roommate. Glinda wanted to be insulted by Elphaba's cruel words, but she realized that most of those things were probably true…at least they used to be.

Glinda continued sifting through the box of letters, unable to find anything of particular interest. She moved on to the box of pictures, which was full of family photo albums. However, the albums seemed a bit of a joke. There were dozens of pictures of Melena and Frex as they were dating, engaged, and married, and hundreds of pictures of a pregnant Melena. But then suddenly, the pictures stopped, nothing new to be added until there were only pictures of Frex and Nessa. _They avoided taking any pictures of Elphaba,_ Glinda thought sadly, actually taking a moment to pity her. However, Glinda couldn't help but laugh out loud as she stared at one picture of Frex and Nessa, most of which was covered up by a green thumb trying to hold the camera.

Unfortunately, nothing worth noting was in the box of pictures, so Glinda skeptically moved on to the box labeled _Melena's Books_. Most were of no real relevance; she had a small collection of fictional books, along with some history books and biographies. However, as Glinda found herself sifting through a book entitled _The Rise of the Wizard_, something fell from between the pages. Glinda looked down at the floor and found that a picture had been pushed between two pages. Picking it up, Glinda gasped at what she saw.

Two figures stood in the picture, standing closely and holding hands. The first person in the picture was Melena, looking more happy than ever. Based on her physical appearance and style of clothing, it looked to be after Melena had been married, but before the birth of the girls. The second figure was a man, probably in his thirties at the time, looking as happy as Melena as they stood and posed for the picture. He was quite younger then, with a slightly more muscular build, and a full, dark head of hair, but Glinda couldn't help but recognize him. This was a picture of Melena with the Wizard of Oz. Grasping the photo tightly, Glinda ran downstairs to show Nessa her findings.


	5. Chapter 5

"Nessa!" Glinda called as she finally found her friend sitting in the parlor. "Here, take a look at this!"

Nessa took the picture in her hands and studied it carefully. "Well that's my mother, Melena," Nessa said, pointing at the woman in the picture, "she was probably in her mid-twenties here. And…well, I don't know who that is, it's certainly not my father."

"Nessa, that's the Wizard!" Glinda said, pointing at picture of the young man standing next to Melena.

"That's the Wizard?!" Nessa asked in surprise, throwing a confused glance at Glinda. She returned her gaze to the picture, studying it with a tilted head. "I don't know," she finally spoke up again, "I always pictured him looking more….wizardly."

Glinda laughed, having had the same reaction the first time she met the Wizard. She remembered standing in the Wizard's chamber, gripping Elphaba's hand as they stood frozen in the presence of the large floating head. It seemed silly to Glinda now, but it was a truly terrifying experience when they were young. She remembered pushing Elphaba forward, putting the pressure on her roommate, feeling Elphaba's sweaty palm enclosed in her own. But the façade quickly subsided as the floating head drooped down, proving to be nothing more than an effectively used piece of machinery. And when the Wizard appeared from behind the head with a friendly smile on his face, Glinda had been nothing less than stunned.

However, in the last five years, Galinda had spent so much time working with the Wizard that she often forgot that most of Oz had not even seen his face. "I know what you mean," she finally responded, "but that's him alright, I'm absolutely sure of it."

"But what would my mother be doing with the Wizard?" Nessa asked quietly, letting her voice trail off. Silence pierced the air for some time as both Glinda and Nessa stared at the picture, unable to provide a valid answer. But suddenly, Nessa jumped up and yelled, "the Meadowlands!"

"What?" Galinda asked with a tone of utter confusion.

"In the picture! In the background, that's Lou's Bakery, it's in the Meadowlands!"

"You're sure?"

"Positive. My father used to take me there all the time as a child, I'd recognize it anywhere!" Nessa squealed with excitement. "Let's go, we'll see if we can find out any information!"

"Nessa, it's already dark out," Glinda tried to be the level-headed one. "It's been an exhausting day," Glinda said, remembering the day's events. Waking up at dawn in her old dorm room, traveling to Munchkinland, pouring her heart out to Nessa: it was all very tiring for Glinda. "Why don't we get a good night's sleep first, and we'll go in the morning." Nessa looked like she was about to argue, but Glinda interrupted to add, "the bakery is probably already closed already anyway Nessa."

"You're right," Nessa finally conceded, nodding with slight frustration.

Finally in agreement, Glinda and Nessa stood up, walked up to the second floor, and parted ways for the night.

Even though getting a good night's sleep had been Glinda's idea, she found herself awake in bed. Glinda was unable to tell if it was the unusually firm mattress or the millions of thoughts running through her mind that were keeping her awake, but she decided that laying in bed was not going to solve either problem. Pulling her feet out from under the covers and letting them fall onto the hard wooden floors, Glinda listened to the ground creak as she moved towards the door. The room was incredibly dark, so Glinda had to raise her arms out in front of her, feeling for the door. Finally gripping the knob, Glinda pulled the door open and slipped out into the hallway.

Retracing her steps from earlier in the evening, Glinda found herself back on the first floor, standing in the middle of the cavernous foyer. Glinda didn't know what it was, but something about this house made her terribly uncomfortable. At first she thought it was the intricately detailed and ornate decorations, which translated to a sensory overload. But after a while, Glinda realized that the home seemed cold and unwelcoming, and realized how hard it must have been for Nessa and Elphaba to grow up here. _Especially Elphaba_, Glinda thought to herself, realizing how rejected Elphaba must have felt growing up. The sad reality gave Glinda goosebumps, and she made a quick dash for the front door. The house seemed sad and suffocating, and she needed to get out.

Walking out the front door, barefoot and only in a nightgown and robe, Glinda sighed as the cool air struck her in the face. The fresh air was a welcome change for the blonde, and she smiled as the cold air invaded her lungs. _How does Nessa spend every day there?_ Glinda wondered. Even though it was a large house, it felt very confining. One day in the house felt like one day too long for Glinda, and she couldn't understand how Nessa had managed to spend almost her whole life here. However, Glinda realized that the house hadn't always been the only thing confining Nessa until recently. Until recently, the house must have seemed very welcoming in comparison to the confinement of her chair.

Glinda's mind began to wander, as she imagined Elphaba leaning over Nessa's feet, reciting an incantation only she could understand. _Nessa must have been so frightened,_ Glinda realized, thinking how she would react if she had ever let Elphaba do a spell on her. _I wonder how they left things the last time they saw each other,_ Glinda continued to think, realizing that Nessa never explained how the two parted. Nessa seemed very committed to finding Elphaba, and Glinda couldn't help but wonder why. It was very possible that Nessa just wanted to be reunited with her sister, but Glinda's gut told her that there was more to the story.

However, she did not have much time to think about this, for a nearby sound pulled Glinda away from her thoughts, and she realized that a figure was approaching her.

"Hello?" Glinda whispered, her fear made apparent by the tone of her voice. "Is someone there?" She watched as the figure continued approaching, and Glinda cursed herself for leaving her wand upstairs. She took a step back towards the door, squinting to get a good look.

"Glinda?" a male voice said, still making her way towards her.

_That voice is so familiar,_ Glinda thought to herself, but still did not let her guard down. The person finally came into view, and Glinda realized she did not know the man at all. The short figure seemed to be made entirely of tin, shining against the small amount of moonlight cascading over the scene.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" Glinda stammered, already knowing the answer.

The man of tin did not respond. Instead, he just stood there, staring at Glinda. His piercing eyes only made Glinda more aware that she was without a wand and in her nightgown, heightening her sense of insecurity. She slowly backed towards the door, trying to find the knob without taking her eyes off the tin man.

"You don't recognize me, do you?" he said, and quickly started rushing towards Glinda. Truly fearing for her life now, Glinda finally found the knob and pushed the front door open. The tin man seemed to lunge towards her now, and Glinda quickly ran back inside the house, shutting the door to separate the two.

Without pausing, Glinda sprinted back up the stairs, into her bedroom, and started searching in the dark for her wand. She dropped to the ground when she stubbed her toe on the dresser, cursing out loud as she grabbed her foot. However, Glinda quickly forgot the pain pulsing through her body as she regained her footing, and managed to grab her wand from the top of the dresser.

Finally regaining the courage to move back downstairs, Glinda crept down the marble staircase, listening carefully for any sounds as she progressed. Darkness continued to envelope the room, and the small amount of light from the moon managed to cast ominous shadows throughout the foyer. The silence in the house was deafening, making Glinda even more aware of her own breathing. Glinda moved back towards the front door, wand at the ready in her right hand as she searched for the doorknob with her left hand. Finally, her hand made contact with the familiar cold metal of the knob. Glinda held her breath for a minute, knowing she may suddenly be reunited with her attacker, then made the decision to move quickly and opened the door. Swinging it open as quickly as possible, Glinda hoped to catch her attacker off guard. However, it was Glinda who was caught off guard when she found herself staring at an empty front yard. Glinda spent a moment standing in the doorway, looking around the yard for any movement. Suddenly, Glinda felt a hand clamp down on her shoulder from behind. _He's in the house,_ Glinda realized in a panic, feeling the tight grip on her shoulder as she spun around.

"Nessa!" Glinda said in a hushed whisper, feeling like her heart had just skipped a beat.

"Glinda, what are you doing up?" Nessa asked casually. "I heard the front door slam, then it sounded like you fell…"

"Yes, I hit my foot," Glinda said quietly, suddenly remembering the pain coursing through her foot.

"Well what were you doing up? And why are you running around in the dark with your wand?"

"Well I couldn't sleep, and I didn't want to wake you, so I went out to get some air, only I wasn't alone, and I ran back inside, but then I stubbed my toe, and now I can't find the tin man anymore, and then-"

Nessa had only been half-listening to Glinda's rambling until two words caught her attention. "Wait!" Nessa yelled, "A tin man was here? In this house?"

"Well no, not in the house but he tried to attack-"

"Well where is he?" Nessa now seemed more panicked than Glinda, which surprised the blonde.

"Don't worry Nessa, I think he left, I must have scared him away."

"He's gone?" Nessa said, sounding somewhat disappointed.

"Umm, I think so," Glinda replied with a tone of confusion. But Glinda had barely finished her sentence when Nessa rushed towards the front door and ran outside, looking around desperately. Glinda ran out behind Nessa, crying out, "Nessa, be careful, he tried to attack me! We should stay inside."

Nessa continued to look around the yard for a moment, clearly looking for any signs of movement. Finally, Glinda lightly placed her hand on Nessa's shoulder and murmured, "Is everything okay Nessa?"

Nessa obviously noticed the genuine concern in Glinda's voice, and turned to face the blonde. "Yes," she replied quietly, "I'm fine. We should probably go back to sleep."

Glinda could see right through the fake smile plastered across Nessa's face, but could tell that now was not the time to pry. Slowly, the two women moved back inside, and Glinda watched as Nessa closed the door. Much to Glinda's surprise, Nessa did not lock the front door. The blonde couldn't help but find it odd that, immediately after an attack on the house, Nessa was choosing to leave the door unlocked.

The two women walked upstairs slowly, eventually going their separate ways at the top of the stairs. Glinda moved back into her bedroom, climbing under the warm covers slowly. But Glinda did not sleep. Still fearing the tin man who had attacked her earlier, Glinda sat straight up in bed, eyes open and wand at the ready. She watched the shadows slowly dance around the room, listened to the night sounds, and gazed out the window as dawn finally approached. Glinda watched the sun slowly rise above the tree line, illuminating the ground.


	6. Chapter 6

Stretching, Glinda slowly pulled herself out of bed, slipping into a dress that Nessa had let her borrow. The black gown fit a bit loosely on her body, and she took a moment to look herself in the mirror. Two days with little sleep had caused dark circles to form under Glinda's eyes, and the black dress only emphasized the unbecoming color under her eyes. Feeling even more old and frumpy than yesterday, Glinda sighed as she put her hair up in a loose ponytail to hide the tangles. Glinda could barely recognize herself as she stared in the mirror, and decided to abandon any futile attempts at cosmetic improvement. Giving up, Glinda threw on her shoes, picked up her wand, and went downstairs to find Nessa.

"Oh Glinda, you look lovely in that dress!" Nessa smiled with a little too much excitement as Glinda entered the kitchen.

"Oh, thank you," Glinda smiled back. Glinda had realized that Nessa had an obvious problem with honesty, but this was one time Glinda did not mind. Glinda had grown accustomed to receiving hundreds of compliments every day, and the sudden drought of loyal subjects had done a number on Glinda's ego.

Glinda took a moment to look Nessa in the eyes, and quickly realized how bloodshot they were. In fact, Nessa seemed to have a pair of dark circles under her eyes that matched Glinda's. _I guess neither of us got much sleep,_ Glinda thought to herself, assuming that Nessa had also been awake and afraid all night.

"So, shall we get going?" Nessa asked, to which Glinda responded with furious nodding. Glinda could not wait to get out of the governor's mansion. Not only did the potential return of the tin man leave her on edge, but the house in general still felt extremely unwelcoming.

The women walked outside in their matching black dressed, Nessa only looking slightly more elegant with her ruby-red shoes. Glinda smiled at being greeted by a cloudless day, perfect for travel by bubble.

Nessa must have noticed the expression on Glinda's face, for she spoke up, "I know, the weather here is always like this."

"Really?" Glinda asked in a bit of a daze.

"I mean, the winds pick up occasionally, but there's usually never a cloud in the sky. Strange, isn't it?"

"Well, at least it's always sunny instead of always cloudy and storming," Glinda nodded, then picked up her wand to conjure her bubble. The large sphere appeared without trouble, and Glinda quickly stepped inside. She turned to Nessa, who was staring at the bubble apprehensively, doing a poor job of hiding her fear.

"Is, is it safe?" Nessa stammered, pointing at the bubble.

"Completely," Glinda smiled, finally feeling comfortable and in here element.

"And you're certain it can hold both of us?" Nessa questioned.

"I'm sure! Now climb in and hold my hand," Glinda answered reassuringly. Slowly, Nessa inched towards the bubble, and stuck her hand out until it passed through the clear barrier of the bubble. Glinda grabbed Nessa's hand and watched as the rest of her body passed through the bubble until the pair were entirely encased.

"Alright, I'm going to lift us up now," Glinda said calmly, remembering how nerve-wrecking this had been for Glinda the first time too. Nessa tightened her grip on Glinda's hand, clamping down until the blonde had nearly lost circulation to the appendage. Slowly ascending from the ground, Glinda stopped the bubble at three feet off the ground, letting it hover for a minute. She watched as Nessa surveyed the scene, slowly growing more comfortable with the apparatus.

Once Nessa loosened her grip on Glinda's hand enough so that she could actually feel her hand again, Glinda assumed it was time to get moving. The bubble climbed until it cleared the tree line, and the girls could see for miles in each direction.

"Okay, which way to the Meadowlands?" Glinda asked Nessa while still controlling the bubble.

"Ummm," Nessa paused for a moment while she looked around, trying to gain her bearings. "That way," she finally pointed north, sounding quite confident with her answer, "about eighty clock-ticks in that direction."

Nodding in understanding, Glinda directed the bubble in a northern direction, trying to keep the sphere moving as smoothly as possible. She noticed that whenever the bubble hit a small bit of turbulence, Nessa seemed to stiffen up in a panic, so Glinda did whatever she could to mitigate any unnecessary bumps. As the women continued on their travel, Nessa started to become more and more comfortable with the bubble, finally gaining the courage to look down below her feet, and was barely even holding Glinda's hand anymore. By the time they reached the Meadowlands, Nessa was acting like this was the way she always traveled.

"Down there!" Nessa perked up as she pointed towards a small town below them. Glinda noticed the small community of houses and shops situated in a clearing near acres and acres of farmland. Glinda slowly brought the bubble downward, down towards the Meadowlands, where she hoped to find some answers.

The bubble popped lightly as Glinda and Nessa reached the ground, and Glinda looked around slowly as she studied the town.

"This is it?" Glinda said as she looked around. The entire town seemed to comprise of one narrow road, lined with a few small shops and restaurants.

"Yep, this is it," Nessa smiled in response, obviously reliving some fond memories of her times here when she was young.

"But, but I don't even see a post office, or a bank!" Glinda noticed.

"Well, very few people actually live here," Nessa explained. "Most of the people that come here are just tourists or live in nearby towns. But only a few people actually live in this town."

_A perfect place to avoid being recognized,_ Glinda thought as she imagined a married Melena meeting up with the Wizard. _It must have been hard to avoid recognition,_ she realized, since Melena was the wife of the Governor of Munchkinland, and was obviously out at many public events. Further, even though very few people knew the Wizard's identity, Glinda knew that he usually avoided going out in public. But in a town where no one lived and no one knew each other, they were almost guaranteed privacy and anonymity.

"Look, it's Glinda the Good!" a voice cried from the nearby restaurant. _Well, not complete anonymity,_ Glinda thought as she rolled her eyes, turning to greet those who recognized her.

"Good morning," Glinda smiled, waving at the young woman who had already recognized her, and watched as the woman quickly approached.

"Do you always get recognized like this?" Nessa mumbled under her breath.

"You wouldn't believe it…" Glinda sighed quietly, then replastered her smile as the woman approached.

"Glinda the Good!" the woman repeated while bowing down, "What in Oz's name are you doing here in the Meadowlands?" Glinda opened her mouth to respond, but the woman didn't even stop to take a breath. "It is just such a pleasure to have you here, we never see royalty like you in our town!"

Glinda saw Nessa's face turn a slight shade of crimson. The governor was obviously unhappy that she wasn't recognized or considered "royalty," but Glinda wished she could trade places with Nessa. It had been a long time since she had traveled without being recognized, and even in this black dress with no makeup and her hair pulled back, she could not avoid the public eye. Glinda shot Nessa a smile as the woman continued.

"Anyway, I just heard the wonderful news of your engagement to Prince Fiyero Tiggular, congratulations!" the woman exclaimed while winking.

Glinda felt as if a knife had just been stuck into her heart. Although she had begun to make peace with Fiyero and Elphaba, the emotions were still real, the pain was still palpable. Glinda had even forgotten that the engagement ring still glimmered on her left hand, leaving Glinda speechless and unable to explain what had recently transpired.

"Have you set the date yet?" the woman continued with excitement.

Now it felt like the knife in her heart was being turned…slowly. Glinda even put her hand on her heart, feeling the tears welling up in her eyes. Thankfully, Nessa seemed very aware of Glinda's emotions, and quickly cut in, "Would you be able to direct us to Lou's Bakery?"

The woman seemed a bit put-off by having her conversation with Glinda cut off, but begrudgingly pointed down the street.

"Thanks," Nessa mumbled as she pulled Glinda away from the scene.

"Thank you," Glinda whispered once they were far enough away from the woman. Nessa smiled and rubbed Glinda's back, offering silent support and consoling. Taking a slow and deep breath, Glinda quickly tried to regain her composure as they approached the bakery.

A tinkling bell announced their entrance as Glinda and Nessa entered Lou's bakery, and a plump woman looked up from behind the counter. Glinda paused as she entered the store, amazed by how familiar it looked based on the photograph of Melena and the Wizard. The walls were painted a mint-green color, with paintings of the Emerald City lining the walls. The tables and chairs looked updated since the pictures were taken, but the rest of the bakery looked identical to the picture that must be over twenty-five years old. The smell of freshly-baked bread invaded Glinda's nostrils, reminding her how little she'd eaten in the last three or four days. However, she pushed her senses aside and looked towards the woman behind the counter.

"How can I help you ladies?" the woman asked in a bored monotone, much to Glinda's delight. _Thank Oz, she doesn't recognize me!_ It was rare, so Glinda loved and enjoyed moments like this, basking in the potential of normalcy.

"Yes, is Lou in?" Nessa spoke up, leading the conversation.

"Lou?" the woman asked with a bit of confusion and annoyance.

"Yes, Lou. This is Lou's Bakery, isn't it?"

"Honey, Lou was my father and he passed over twelve years ago," the woman responded.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Nessa said genuinely, and Glinda nodded her condolences in agreement.

"Like I said, it was twelve years ago, we're doing alright here," the woman sighed, "now did you want to order something?"

Nessa was about to pry with more questions, but Glinda sensed the woman's growing annoyance with the conversation. "Yes, we'll take two blueberry muffins please!" Glinda interjected, smiling at the woman. The woman behind the counter nodded in understanding and moved towards the container of muffins. Pushing her luck slightly, Glinda casually said, "So have any of the employees here been working here a long time?" She knew the woman couldn't have worked here twenty-five years ago, since she couldn't be more than thirty-five herself.

"I'm the sole owner and employee these days, and I've only been working here since my father passed," the woman stated matter-of-factly.

"Oh, okay, thanks anyway," Glinda sighed as she paid for the muffins, and she and Nessa went to sit at a table near the counter.

"Well this turned out to be quite the dead end," Nessa whispered in frustration.

"I know, I thought we would get more of a lead than this," Glinda sighed, trying to think of what to do next.

Glinda pulled the photograph out of her pocket, studying the picture once more. "Well, we're definitely in the right place," Glinda sighed, realizing how similar the bakery still looked to the way it did twenty-five years ago.

"Yeah, it's just too bad there's no one here to remember it…" Nessa sighed.

"Hey girls, you forgot your change," the woman said as she walked over to Glinda and dropped some coins on the table.

"Oh, thanks," Glinda murmured, only half-listening.

The woman started walking away, but suddenly stopped in her tracks. "Hey, I remember them!" the woman squealed with sudden excitement.

"What?!" both Nessa and Glinda cried in unison.

"They used to come in here all the time, when I was a little girl!"

Glinda and Nessa exchanged looks of shock and awe, but Glinda still wasn't completely convinced. "You're sure you recognize them?"

"Sure, I'd remember them anywhere!" the woman sat down next to the women, obviously excited about the conversation now. "His name was Frank, and she went by Mel, although I always thought that was short for something…"

"Melena," both girls whispered, causing the woman to smile and say, "Yes, I'm sure that's it."

"Anyway," the woman continued, "they were such a sweet young couple, such lovebirds…"

"Lovebirds?!" Nessa yelled in shock, obviously not anticipating that Melena and the Wizard had been lovers.

Fortunately, Glinda had taken the time to consider this possibility, and hushed Nessa. "So, so they came in here often?"

"Well, when I was about six or seven, they came in quite often. I'd say about once or twice a week. There was no pattern to when they came in, but they certainly came in often!"

_They were probably waiting until Frex was away on business so they could carry on with their affair,_ Glinda realized.

"They always arrived separately," the woman remembered. "The man always came in first, and he was always so kind! He would talk to me while he waited for his girlfriend, often bringing me little trinkets. He must have been very wealthy, giving presents to a little girl he didn't even know! And he was always dressed so nicely!"

"So tell us more about them," Glinda inquired with a smile.

The woman returned the smile, and plopped down into a third chair, obviously ready to spill everything she knew about the couple.

Nearly an hour later, the woman finally finished sharing all her stories about Melena and the Wizard, and Nessa and Glinda had hung on every syllable.

"So do you know where they went after leaving the bakery?" Glinda asked.

"Not really. Occasionally they spoke of walking to the nearby beach, and sometimes they even left separately, but usually they just walked out together…holding hands," she looked off into space as if in a dream state, but then quickly remembered she was in front of others. "But no," she finished quickly, "they usually didn't mention where they were going."

Glinda and Nessa sat there in silence, trying to process all the information the woman had just provided. Most of it was rather inconsequential, talking about what kind of food they ordered, the miscellaneous discussions they had. However, Glinda felt that this proved the Wizard and Melena were lovers, and maintained a long-term affair.

"When was the last time you saw them?" Glinda asked.

"Oh it's been years and years!" the woman waved her hands in the air as she spoke, "one day they came in, and she seemed to be rather upset about something. I thought she was feeling sick because she kept holding her stomach, but I don't really know…"

_She was pregnant, pregnant with Elphaba!_ Glinda realized, but chose not to state this aloud.

"But they seemed to be fighting about something, although I couldn't hear what. He stormed out, leaving poor Mel by herself. She sat at that table over there," she said, pointing to the table in the corner, "and my father consoled her for a while. Eventually she calmed down and left, and that's the last time we ever saw them."

Glinda nodded in understanding, still trying to take it all in. She looked over at Nessa, who was white as a ghost. Obviously finding out about her mother's affair was a lot for her to handle, for she sat in stunned silence, staring off at nothing in particular. Glinda could see tears slowly welling up in Nessa's eyes, so Glinda decided to wrap things up.

"Listen, I know this is an odd question, but do you know anything about this bottle?" Glinda asked, pulling the bottle of green liquid out of her pocket.

The woman took the bottle in her hand, moving her fingers over it's ridged texture, peering at the green liquid as she gave the bottle a little shake.

"Nope, never seen a bottle like this before."

"Are you sure?" Glinda asked. "You don't sell it here, or any of the other stores in town? Or you never saw Mel and the Wiz-I mean Frank with it?"

"Nope, sorry." The woman went to pass the bottle back to Glinda, but loosened her grip too soon. The bottle slipped between the woman's fingers and went plummeting towards the ground. Glinda made a grab for the bottle, but it was no use. The bottle smashed on impact, the green liquid coating the ground near Glinda's feet.

"Oh I am so sorry!" the woman cried. "Let me go get a mop!" And with that, the woman disappeared into the back room, looking for a cleaning material.

The shattering of the glass seemed to bring Nessa out of her daze, for she was looking Glinda deep in the eyes. "Is there a way to fix it?"

"Fix it?" Glinda asked.

"You know, use magic or something to get the bottle back."

"If I looked long enough, I could probably find a spell to reconstruct the bottle, but it's already too late for the liquid, look." Nessa followed Glinda's pointing finger to see the liquid already permeating the ground, already seeping into the floor.

Glinda cursed aloud, knowing how important that bottle would be. However, she knew they needed to keep thinking forward, trying to plan their next step. "Listen, I think that woman has told us all she knows, let's get out of here."

Nessa nodded in agreement, and the two women quietly stood up, moved towards the door, and rushed out, knowing that the tinkling bell would indicate their departure to the owner. As soon as the women were outside, Glinda conjured her bubble, the two women quickly stepped inside, and Glinda raised the bubble as fast as she could, heading back towards Munchkinland.


	7. Chapter 7

The two women traveled in silence as the bubble floated back to Munchkinland. Glinda was deep in thought, trying to pull out any important information from their conversation in the Meadowlands. Nessa, on the other hand, looked like she was still struggling to come to terms with the basics of the conversation. _She's probably having trouble dealing with the fact that her mother cheated on her father,_ Glinda thought, _I wonder if she's even stopped to consider that Elphaba may not be Frex's child._

Before they knew it, Glinda and Nessa were back in Munchkinland, and they stepped onto the ground as the bubble popped lightly.

"So, what do we do now?" Glinda asked. "Because without that bottle, we've lost the ability to do a lot of research."

"Well why don't we just ask the Wizard for his bottle?" Nessa asked.

"He may get suspicious," Glinda said while deep in thought.

"But suspicious of what? It sounds like all he did was date my mother! He may not have even known she was married!" Nessa said innocently.

"I think it goes deeper than that…" Glinda murmured.

"What do you mean?"

"Nessa, I think Elphaba may be the Wizard's daughter," Glinda finally admitted.

Nessa didn't say a word, but she didn't need to, for the look on her face said it all. It had been enough to deal with that her mother was unfaithful, but now Nessa was clearly struggling to realize that her sister may actually only be her half-sister.

"Listen," Glinda continued, "I think we need to find Elphaba. I think the Wizard and Morrible are trying to find and capture her, and I think she needs to know what's going on."

"Yes…" Nessa mumbled, hardly even listening. Suddenly she turned to Glinda, yet still avoiding looking her in the eye. "Umm, I just have some meetings to attend to first, being the governor and all…do you mind if we leave in a few hours?"

Glinda knew this was a lie, that Nessa just wanted some time alone, but Glinda knew better than to argue. "Sure," Glinda smiled, "take care of your business. I think we need to go see Fiyero's parents, I think they're our best chance of finding Fiyero and Elphaba. I'll try to find out where their castle is while you're in your meetings."

Nessa was already walking away before Glinda finished her sentence. "Okay, sounds good, see you in a bit," Nessa said between sobs as she jogged away.

_Poor Nessa,_ Glinda thought sadly. _First her father dies, then she lost Boq, then she finds out her mother was unfaithful to her father…and now she and Elphaba may only be half-sisters._

Glinda took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, trying to expel the stress along with the breath. Knowing that she had to be strong now, for both Nessa and herself, Glinda put on a smile and started walking towards the local library in order to map the Tiggular castle. However, Glinda only made it two steps before someone grabbed her from behind.

Glinda tried to scream, but the stranger immediately covered her mouth. She next considered a spell, but the stranger seemed to be one step ahead of her, and knocked it out of her hand quickly. Backing towards a set of bushes where they couldn't be seen, Glinda noticed how cold the hand covering her mouth was. In fact, it was cold like metal. _The tin man!_ Glinda realized, now truly beginning to panic. She tried thrashing around to break free, but the tin man was too strong for her. His grip was strong without being harsh or painful, but Glinda didn't care, she could only think of escaping.

"Glinda, stop, I'm not going to hurt you," the tin man whispered as the two continued to struggle. Finally reaching a place where they couldn't be seen, the tin man stopped pulling Glinda along and continued speaking to her. "Glinda, just listen to me for a minute. I'm sorry I scared you, but I couldn't let Nessa see me, I had to wait until you were alone. I'm going to let go of your mouth now, please promise not to scream…"

Slowly, he removed his hand from over her mouth, and Glinda turned angrily, yelling "Who the hell are you and why are you attacking me?"

"I thought you would have recognized my voice," the tin man said.

It was true that Glinda had always found the voice familiar, but she couldn't quite place it. Also, Glinda knew she would recognize someone who looked like this, and she certainly didn't recognize the tin man.

"It's me, Boq," the tin man said quietly.

The moment he said his name, it all clicked into place in Glinda's mind. _It is Boq's voice!_ She turned to look at the tin man's face, and immediately recognized the eyes.

"Boq?' Glinda said quietly, to which he nodded slightly. "Sweet Oz, Boq, what happened to you?!"

"I guess she didn't tell you," Boq murmured.

"Who didn't tell me what? Boq, how did you get like this?"

"This was Nessa's doing. When I told her I was leaving her for…for…"

"For me," Glinda finished, nodding.

"For you," he blushed slightly, even with a face of tin. "Anyway, I was leaving, and Nessa started reading from the Grimmerie, and suddenly I felt a sharp pain in my chest. I passed out for a minute, and woke up like this."

"No…no she couldn't have, she didn't say anything about that," Glinda murmured with confusion.

"Well she tried to blame it on Elphaba, but I knew better. She threatened me, then she read a spell from the Grimmerie and I ended up like this."

Glinda let it all sink in, realizing that Boq was probably telling the truth. It certainly explained why she had been so excited when Glinda mentioned the tin man, and why she would have stayed up all night with the door unlocked, waiting for him.

"Oh Boq, I'm so sorry," Glinda sighed, realizing how hard this must be on him. Although she had always tried to avoid him for following her like a lost puppy, she had always had a degree of respect for Boq. She then realized how complicated and complex the relationship between Boq and Nessa must be. "Boq, you should talk to Nessa. I think she feels terrible about what happened, and maybe she can help you."

"No!" Boq said quickly, "you can't tell her I'm here, I think she'll try to kill me!"

"Boq, she's not a bad person," Glinda sighed, smiling lightly. "She was just in love, and we all do crazy things when we're in love." Glinda knew it was true from first-hand experience, remembering planning her own engagement party before Fiyero had even proposed.

"Shhh, she's coming back!" Boq whispered, noticing Nessa slowly walking down the path towards where he and Glinda stood. "Please, Glinda, don't tell her you saw me!"

"I won't," Glinda sighed, "but please think about what I said. She's not a bad person, she just didn't want to lose you, please try to understand."

Glinda hoped her comments would resonate with Boq, but couldn't be sure as he immediately turned and ran. Although Nessa had clearly put Boq through a lot of physical and emotional pain, Glinda reminded herself how similar she and Nessa really were, and how much she should support her new friend.

"Alright," Nessa said, approaching Glinda with a plastered smile, "shall we head off to Kiamo Ko?"


	8. Chapter 8

Before they knew it, Glinda and Nessa were back in the bubble and on the way to Kiamo Ko. Glinda had considered saying something to Nessa about Boq, but decided against it. Glinda chose to keep her promise to Boq, and also didn't want to risk hurting her relationship with Nessa, especially when finding Elphaba was the real priority. So the girls quickly found the location of the Tiggular Castle in Kiamo Ko and were soon on their way.

Nessa had obviously grown used to travel by bubble now, so Glinda was comfortable picking up speed in the bubble, eventually accelerating to her normal travel speed. By late afternoon, Glinda and Nessa had reached Kiamo Ko. Stepping out of the popped bubble, the two women looked at each other.

"Did you ever meet Fiyero's parents?" Nessa asked quietly.

"Surprisingly, no," Glinda sighed, realizing that was probably a sign of trouble in the relationship that she should have noticed a long time ago. The two approached the vast double doors at the front of the house and knocked loudly. The women could hear some bustling on the other side of the door, and smiled as an older man opened the door.

"May I help you?" the man said with a smile.

"Yes," Glinda smiled, prepared to address the butler, "This is Nessarose Thropp, the governor of Munchkinland, and I am Glinda the Good, and we were hoping to visit with King and Qu-"

"Glinda!" the man's smile widened as he repeated her name. "It's so wonderful to finally meet you, we've heard so much about you! I'm Harold Tiggular, please come in!"

_Oh, not the butler_, Glinda cursed herself for her mistake, but quickly shuffled inside the door with a smile along with Nessa.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Glinda smiled, bowing down lightly.

"I apologize that my wife isn't here at the moment, she's run to the market, but she should be home shortly."

As if he had predicted it down to the moment, a tall regal woman came bustling through the front door, not paying attention to the occupants. "Harold," she gasped between quick breaths, "Harold, I've just returned from town, and you won't believe what I just heard about our so-"

The woman stopped mid-syllable at the sight of Glinda and Nessa. Fiyero's father smiled at his wife, clearing his throat. "As you'll notice Lenora, we have visitors!"

The woman remained silent, staring at Glinda for a long while. Glinda tried to read the look on Lenora's eyes, and thought she saw a mix of surprise, confusion, and sympathy. However, since they had never met before now, she could not be sure.

"Lenora," Harold continued, getting his wife's attention, "this is Nessarose Thropp, she's the governor of Munchkinland," she said while gesturing to Nessa.

"Madame Governor," Lenora said, dropping into a slight bow.

Nessa seemed to appreciate the gesture, but found it rather uncomfortable, having a queen bow in her presence. "It's Nessa, and the pleasure is all mine," she smiled, returning the bow.

"And this," Harold continued with much excitement, "is Glinda Upland, the one our son spoke of so much!"

"A pleasure to finally meet you," Lenora smiled weakly, "we've heard so much about you."

Glinda went to shake the woman's hand, then Harold rushed over to stand by his wife.

"So," Harold continued brightly, "have you kids set the date yet? For the wedding I mean?"

Harold had barely finished his sentence when Lenora elbowed him hard in the side. Fiyero's father winced in pain, and turned to his wife, "Now what was that for?"

"Well, should we go have some tea?" Lenora said brightly, ignoring her husband. "Why don't you two have a seat in the parlor and we'll be right in!"

_She knows what happened,_ Glinda realized. _Or at least she's heard some facet of the truth. At the very least, she realizes that Fiyero has left me._ Glinda did her best to put the smile on her face, walking into the parlor with Nessa as Fiyero's parents spoke in hushed whispers near the front door.

"What's up with Fiyero's mom?" Nessa had obviously noticed the uncomfortable tension in the room when Lenora arrived, but was not keen enough to understand the reason.

"It sounds like word is beginning to spread about Fiyero leaving," Glinda sighed.

Nessa nearly smacked herself upside the head for her lack of tact. "Oh Glinda, I'm so sorry! I mean, it must be very uncomfortable being here in the first place, but now they already know…"

"Well who knows how much they know," Glinda shrugged. "I'd be careful about what we admit, Nessa. They may know that the engagement is off, but they may have no idea about Elphaba or how he held the Wizard at gun-"

Glinda stopped as she heard Lenora's and Harold's footsteps as they re-entered the room with a tray of tea. Glinda quickly plastered her familiar fake smile on her face, and Nessa quickly followed in doing so. They displayed their toothy grins as Fiyero's parents placed the tray on the coffee table and sat on a nearby couch.

Glinda, Nessa, Harold, and Lenora sat in silence for quite a while, as all four clearly had no idea what to say or how to start the conversation. Finally, Glinda decided to clear her throat and speak, knowing that she had spent her whole life trying to emulate great communicators to be popular, and now the training was going to pay off.

"So," she started while continuing smiling, "your home is absolutely lovely, I'm amazed I hadn't had the opportunity to see it before now."

"Thank you so much dear," Lenora smiled.

"Well you know our son," Harold smiled, "I don't think he even remembers what this place looks like anymore, he comes home so rarely!"

Nessa took advantage of the topic, "So he, he hasn't been home lately?"

Lenora raised an eyebrow at Nessa's lack of subtlety, but remained smiling as she responded, "No, we have not seen Fiyero in quite some time."

"Oh that's a shame," Glinda tried to recover the conversation, "and I apologize for not pushing him to come home more often! You know, things just get so crazy at the Emerald City sometimes!" she giggled as she continued. "And being named Captain of the Guard, what an honor! You both must be so proud!"

"Well, yes," Lenora said half-heartedly.

_Yep,_ Glinda thought, _the rumor must include something about Elphaba or holding the Wizard at gunpoint, because she couldn't look less proud right now._

"Yes," Harold said a little too loudly, stumbling over his own words, "well he's certainly been more driven these past few years…well, I mean, his passion is…well, what I'm trying to say is-"

"Harold!" Lenora half-yelled, shutting up her husband, then looked back at Glinda and Nessa while smiling. "What my husband is trying to say is that Fiyero certainly seemed to have more direction in his life ever since he started at Shiz, I'm sure some of which was your doing."

Glinda's cheeks turned a shade of red, which everyone else must have perceived as modestly and embarrassment from the compliment. But inside, Glinda was fuming just slightly, thinking about how the old Fiyero, the self-absorbed and care-free Fiyero, had loved her and no one else. Then Elphaba came along and made Fiyero the person he is today. Glinda wished she could take credit for Fiyero's transformation, wished that it would have caused him to love Glinda even more. But she knew the truth, even if no one else knew it or wanted to admit it. Therefore, Glinda just smiled and nodded, gritting her teeth to withhold a response.

"Anyway," Nessa said, noticing Glinda's silence and how the uncomfortable tension was beginning to rise again, "the reason we came is actually regarding Fiyero. Glinda has been visiting with me these past few days, and now we're having a bit of trouble getting in touch with Fiyero. Would you happen to have any idea where we could find him?"

Glinda stared at Nessa slightly dumbfounded. These past few days, Glinda had been the one to cover for Nessa, always saying the right thing, wording everything to perfection. But now, Glinda sat in the Tiggular castle, staring at Nessa, incredibly impressed with her choice of words. Nothing Nessa said had been a lie, but still maintained a safe façade that everything was alright, that nothing was out of the ordinary. Glinda's smile momentarily transformed from its fake and toothy state to a smile of genuine gratitude and surprise. However, the fake smile immediately plastered itself again on her face when Lenora began to speak.

"No, I'm sorry, but we haven't heard anything from him."

"And you don't have any idea where he could be? Somewhere he would to go vacation, or where he goes to be on his own?" Nessa pushed a bit further.

"I think the person best suited to answer that question would be his fiancé," Lenora said while maintaining eye contact with Glinda. _She wants to me to admit the engagement is off,_ Glinda realized. At first, Glinda was rather hurt and offended by Lenora's statement, but quickly realized that the woman didn't mean any harm. She was merely curious about what was happening with her son, and was trying her best to tiptoe around the situation. But Glinda wasn't ready to talk about it…she couldn't talk about it until she found Elphaba and Fiyero.

"Well thank you so much for the tea," Glinda smiled, gesturing towards the untouched tray. "I'm sorry for having shown up uninvited, and thank you so much for your hospitality. Unfortunately, Nessarose and I have some meetings to attend back at Munchkinland, so we must be going now."

Glinda hated to lie like that, especially to Fiyero's parents, but she couldn't stay any longer. She knew the Tiggular's had no valuable information, and being there was incredibly painful. So she and Nessa quickly stood up, bowed to the King and Queen, and shuffled towards the door. Once they finally closed the front door behind them, Glinda took a long, deep breath, closing her eyes to shut out the awkward interaction that had just occurred. She opened her eyes when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"It'll be okay," Nessa smiled, while squeezing her shoulder with encouragement.

"I know, and it's getting a bit easier," Glinda nodded, noticing that tears weren't rushing to her eyes the way they used to, "but it's still not easy."

"I know how you feel," Nessa conceded, causing Glinda to look her in the eye, smiling and nodding. Holding hands, Glinda conjured her bubble, planning the return to Munchkinland once again.


	9. Chapter 9

Glinda felt like she was experiencing deja vu as she lowered the bubble in front of the Governor's Mansion in Munchkinland. The bubble popped lightly as they reached the ground, and Glinda glanced over at Nessa. The two had not spoken much during the trip home, their minds obviously on Fiyero and Boq. The encounter with Lenora and Frank had not given the women any helpful information, and had only stirred dormant feelings about the men who left them.

"So what now?" Nessa's voice invaded Glinda's thoughts, causing Glinda to look over towards her friend.

"I don't know," Glinda sighed. It was the painful truth: Glinda no longer had any ideas. For the first time since first arriving in Munchkinland, Glinda didn't know what to do next. There had always been a backup plan, or a "Plan B." But not now. Now there was nothing. No leads, only dead-ends. No clues, for even the green bottle was long gone.

_Well, not the only bottle, _Glinda thought pensively.

"I need to go back to the Emerald City," Glinda said suddenly.

"What? Why?" Nessa asked with surprised.

"I'm going to go talk to the Wizard," she started, but immediately got a harsh look from Nessa. "I'm not going to tell him what we've been up to," Glinda said while rolling her eyes, "I just want to snoop around for information, maybe take another look at his bottle."

"I guess that makes sense," Nessa conceded while nodding.

"Besides, I can't borrow your clothes forever!" Glinda smiled, looking down at the black dress that Nessa had loaned her. The two women laughed lightly as Glinda tried to smooth out the dress that seemed so unlike her style.

"Okay, well let me just change clothes and we can go," Nessa said as she turned and walked back towards the house.

"Actually Nessa, I think I should go alone."

Nessa stopped in her tracks. "Alone? Why?" Nessa asked, looking rather hurt by the notion of being left alone.

"Well based on what Lenora said, it sounds like word is starting to spread that Elphaba and Fiyero ran off together, so I think people would start to find it strange if we were seen together," Glinda explained. "Especially the Wizard or Madame Morrible, they'd find your presence very suspicious."

Glinda's explanation was only half-honest. Although her point had been valid, she truly just needed some time alone. Although her feelings about Elphaba and Fiyero had improved the last few days, her emotions were still strained. And even though Nessa had been nothing but supportive, Glinda still wanted time alone. Especially after meeting with Frank and Lenora, Glinda felt like she would never find Elphaba and Fiyero. Therefore, Glinda needed time to mourn the loss of her best friend and fiancé.

"You make a good point," Nessa said, buying Glinda's half-truth. "Alright, I'll stay here and continue looking for clues about my mother and the Wizard," Nessa said, half-cringing as she finished her thought.

"Great. I'll only be gone a day or two, then I'll be back." Glinda was about to conjure her bubble when she felt Nessa's hand on her shoulder.

"You do still think we'll find them, don't you Glinda?"

Nessa's eyes were pleading, and it was clear she was feeling the same hopelessness that Glinda was experiencing. Despite her own doubt, the blonde smiled at Nessa, "Of course we will, we're just getting started."

And with that, Glinda conjured her bubble and slowly ascended, leaving Nessa alone as she traveled quickly towards the Emerald City.

Glinda encountered a light rain on her travels back to the Emerald City, but her magical bubble protected her from the storm. She remained dry and safe as always, and even spotted a rainbow in the distance as she traveled, causing Glinda to smile and admire its beauty. She spent the trip doing a lot of thinking. First, Glinda cried for a while. Although the lack of concentration caused some turbulence in the bubble, Glinda didn't care. For the first time in a while, the release of the emotion was soothing. Glinda remembered right after-the-fact, where tears only caused more pain. But this time, these were different tears, they were more therapeutic for Glinda.

After the tears finally subsided, she spent a long time wondering where Fiyero and Elphaba were now, what they were doing. Although they were certainly a resourceful pair, Glinda couldn't help but worry about their safety. However, even Fiyero's parents and Elphaba's sister had no idea where the two had gone, so Glinda hoped that their location was keeping them safe for now. Unfortunately for Glinda, their secret location was also a secret to Glinda, despite her best efforts. She wanted and needed to find Elphaba and Fiyero desperately, but was currently as clueless as the rest of Oz.

Finally, her thoughts drifted to the Wizard and Melena. Although the woman in the Meadowlands had provided some interesting information, Glinda still could not prove that Elphaba was the Wizard's daughter. In fact, Glinda could hardly prove that he and Melena had been in an affair to begin with. _I need to find a way to talk to the Wizard without making him suspicious,_ Glinda thought, _and I need to get a look at that bottle._

Arriving in the Emerald City late at night, Glinda landed in front of her home, stepping on the ground as quietly as possible. She slipped inside her home, flipped on the lights, and ran up to her room. She quickly threw off the black dress she detested so much and went to clean up.

Soon, Glinda was showered and freshly dressed, and Glinda felt so much more comfortable in her own clothes, with her hair and make-up styled the way she liked it. Glancing in the mirror, she was able to smile at her reflection for the first time in a while. However, it wasn't the physical beauty that made her smile. For the first time in a long while, even before Fiyero left, Glinda felt proud of herself. She had always relied on someone to take care of her, either her parents, or Fiyero, or even Elphaba. But for once, Glinda was on her own. So she smiled at herself as she glanced in the mirror, comfortable with the person she saw staring back at her.

Glinda went to put her jewelry back on, carefully catching the clasp of her necklace and straightening it around her neck. She went to put on her engagement ring but stopped herself. Even she didn't completely understand the reason, but Glinda chose not to put it on. It used to represent love and caring, and now the diamond ring only seemed to symbolize dependency and heartbreak. Glinda sighed, letting a lone tear streak down her cheek as she took one last glance at the ring. Finally pulling her eyes from the diamond's sparkling beauty, Glinda turned and moved towards her bed. Sitting down for a moment, she strapped on a pair of glittery pink shoes that matched the pale pink blouse and skirt she had already selected. Picking up her wand, Glinda finally moved out the door and began to walk slowly towards the Wizard's palace.


	10. Chapter 10

Although it was late at night, the Wizard was often known for working into the early hours of the morning, so Glinda decided to risk it. The blonde had much clout with the Wizard, and knew he would agree to see her if he was awake. _And besides,_ Glinda thought to herself,_ if he's asleep, it will give me a better chance to look around_.

Glinda arrived at the front of the palace and was surprised to find the large double doors unattended. Glinda found the lack of security a little odd, but had never tried to enter the palace at this hour, and had no reason to think anything wrong. Letting herself in, Glinda listened as her heels on the stone floor echoed against the vast ceilings. In the dark, the Wizard's Palace seemed even more uninviting than normal, with ominous shadows cast all over the walls. However, Glinda remained as calm and level-headed as possible as she quickened her step, reminding herself that she had nothing to fear.

Finally arriving at the door to the Wizard's private office, Glinda noticed light seeping under the door, giving her the impression that the Wizard was indeed still awake. Knocking lightly, Glinda cleared her throat and called out quietly.

"Your Wizardship? It's me, Glinda. I'm sorry to bother you so late at night, but was hoping we could talk."

Glinda waited, but was greeted with only silence. She heard neither voices nor footsteps from the other side of the door, and Glinda quickly became impatient. She turned the knob and let the wooden door creak open slowly and repeated herself. "Your Ozness? Are you here? Hello?"

Glinda let the door swing open all the way as she studied the room. The Wizard's office was mostly dark, save light coming from the crackling fire at the other end of the room. The shadows that frightened Glinda in the hallway seemed even more numerous and threatening than before, and Glinda started to cower away until she looked towards the Wizard's desk. Although the chair was turned away from the door, Glinda could see the top of the Wizard's head as well as his hand place on the armrest.

"Oh good evening your Ozness," Glinda bowed, even though she knew the Wizard couldn't see her act of graciousness. "I apologize for interrupting you at such a late hour, but I think it's important that we talk…now."

When the Wizard did not try to stop her, Glinda sighed and continued. "I have a bit of a random question for you, your Wizardship, and I apologize for not better explaining myself, but does the name 'Melena' mean anything to you?"

The Wizard did not respond, which Glinda interpreted as shock.

"I'm sorry to bring her up your Ozness, but I need to understand what your relationship was with her," Glinda said as she walked towards the desk. "I know that was a long time ago, and I'm sure you haven't spoken to her in years, but I need to understand what happened with her."

Glinda was only a few feet from the desk now, yet the Wizard would not turn around and acknowledge her. Getting frustrated now, Glinda moved over towards his chair so that they could finally make eye contact. "Listen," she started with a bit of rudeness in her voice, "I know you don't want to talk about it, but this is really import-"

Glinda stopped. She finally looked the Wizard in the eye, but got a look she wasn't expecting. It wasn't a look of anger, or sadness, or even of frustration. In fact, it wasn't a look at all. Although his eyes were open, they didn't seem to be looking anywhere in particular. It only took a moment for Glinda to realize that the lifelessness in his eyes corresponded to the lifelessness in his body. Glinda gasped as she took a good look at the Wizard's body, realizing that he had been dead since before she had even entered the room.

"No," Glinda stammered, backing away slowly, "no it can't be…" Glinda couldn't comprehend the scene in front of her. She didn't know whether to get help or flee the scene or try to understand what happened. Finally making a decision, she took the Wizard's hand, attempting to feel for a pulse. However, she didn't need to go that for, for his icy hands told her that she was certainly too late. Glinda began to cry out of sadness and pity, and closed the Wizard's eyes, then burying her own eyes in her hands. The Wizard hadn't always been the most honorable man, but Glinda always knew he was well-intentioned. He had supported her during some of her darkest hours, and she had learned to respect this man as a second father. Although the last few days had caused her opinions to waver slightly, none of that seemed to matter now. At this moment, all she could do was grieve.

Finally wiping her eyes, Glinda decided it was time to go alert the guards, inform someone of the Wizard's untimely passing. Looking up as she headed towards the door, Glinda stopped suddenly when she saw a figure blocking the exit.

"Madame Morrible?!" cried Glinda, surprised to see the press secretary standing in the doorway.

"Hello Glinda," Morrible replied rather coldly.

"Madame…the Wizard…he's gone…I just found him," Glinda stammered, still upset and struggling to get out a sentence.

"I know," Madame Morrible said with a smirk.

"And he…what?" Glinda said, suddenly realizing how odd Morrible's response was.

"I said that I know he's dead," Madame Morrible said, her smirk now turning into a toothy grin, which Glinda found terrifying.

"How did you…"Glinda started, but the truth suddenly hit her like a ton of bricks. "You killed the Wizard!"

Madame Morrible remained silent, but simply nodded slowly.

"But, but why?" Glinda asked with shock, realizing that her exit was currently blocked by a killer.

"Why else would I leave a job as the headmistress of the most prestigious school in all of Oz?" Madame Morrible said with disdain and anger.

"You wanted to rule Oz…" Glinda murmured, as the reality started to sink in.

"…and I couldn't possibly rule Oz with the Wizard in my way."

Although she was listening to every syllable that Madame Morrible uttered, Glinda's mind was running a mile a minute. _Without the Wizard, is Morrible really the next in line?_ Glinda thought to herself. _No,_ she realized,_ the next of kin shall take the position. And the Wizard's only family is…_

"Elphaba," Madame Morrible finished Glinda's thought. The blonde looked stunned for a minute, but then remembered that Morrible's magical powers were far more advanced than her own. _She's reading my mind,_ Glinda thought, forgetting that her thoughts were no longer private.

"Yes miss Glinda, I'm glad you've finally caught up," Morrible said coldly, then noticed Glinda's look of shock. "Oh don't worry Glinda, you didn't give me any information I didn't already know. I always knew Elphaba was the Wizard's daughter."

"What?" Glinda said stunned.

"The Wizard and I had been friends and colleagues for many years, before you even existed," Madame Morrible smiled. "The Wizard was always a very private man, and only confided in a few people. Fortunately for me, I've been his confidant since the very beginning." Morrible smirked as she continued, "he told me the stories about his love for Melena, and I was a shoulder to cry on when she got pregnant and they broke it off," Morrible laughed while rolling her eyes, showing absolutely no remorse.

Glinda could only stand in shock with her mouth hanging open, taking in Madame Morrible's words.

"I forgot about Melena and the child until a handful of years ago, as I was sitting at my desk at Shiz one day, going through new student transcripts. I finally get to a pair of sisters, Elphaba and Nessarose Thropp, and the listed parents are Frex and Melena Thropp. I immediately made the connection, and knew Elphaba was the right age to be the Wizard's child."

_This goes further back than I could have even imagined,_ Glinda thought.

"Indeed," Morrible said with a smirk, continuing to read Glinda's thoughts. "It was all too easy. I could pretend that my interest was in Nessarose, the future Governor of Munchkinland. But I could never care less about that worthless cripple."

Glinda gasped at Morrible's horrible words, but continued to listen.

"It's no coincidence that I had Nessarose room with me and had private sorcery lessons with Elphaba. I knew I needed to keep an eye on her," Madame Morrible admitted. "And when I thought the time was right, I wanted to unite the two, so I could take care of them both at once. Unfortunately, as you will remember, Elphaba seemed to have other plans that day, and fled before I got the chance."

_The day Elphaba and I went to meet the Wizard…she was going to kill Elphaba and the Wizard way back then! _Glinda processed the information in her head, realizing how different everything could be right now if Elphaba had not stood up for herself and for Animal rights that day.

"As you know, I haven't seen Elphaba since. I was thrillified when I heard that your fiancé had captured her, but apparently it was quite the opposite," Morrible finished, putting a terrible emphasis on the word 'fiance.' The word didn't even sting to Glinda this time, for that all seemed very trivial now.

"Why…why are you telling me all this?" Glinda said, genuinely surprised by Madame Morrible's admission of information.

"Well Glinda, I was hoping it didn't have to end this way. In fact, I was planning on making you one of my most trusted advisors after all this. Unfortunately, since you found out about Elphaba's real father, you know too much information."

"So, what are you going to do?" Glinda asked. "I mean, you can't possibly think you'll get away with this!"

"Actually I do, and it's quite simple. You were visiting with the Wizard when the palace was attacked, and you were both killed in an unfortunate scuffle," Morrible smiled, explaining how Glinda's fate was sealed.

"You won't get away with this," Glinda glared at Morrible.

"Are you referring to Miss Nessarose?" Morrible asked, obviously reading Glinda's mind again. "Yes, she knows too much as well. But have no fear Miss Glinda, I predict a change in the weather will be occurring in Munchkinland rather soon."

Glinda gasped at the thought of Nessarose getting hurt.

"Yes, tragic, isn't it?" Morrible smirked. "And soon, I shall find Miss Elphaba and take care of her. And once that is complete, I shall rule all of Oz!"

Morrible closed her eyes, savoring the moment. She obviously could feel victory within her grasp, but Glinda knew that this was her chance. While Madame Morrible had her eyes closed, Glinda mumbled a spell under her breath, causing a bubble to form around Morrible.

"What the-" Morrible yelled, realizing that she was now encased in a clear bubble, and tried without luck to punch through it.

Although Glinda wanted to laugh at the old woman, she knew that Morrible's magical powers were far superior to her own, and she only had moments to spare. Moving the bubble away from the doorway, Glinda sprinted out of the room as fast as her feet would carry her, and quickly made it back to the palace entrance. Through the empty hallway, she could hear Madame Morrible's footsteps echo behind her, for she had already managed to break out of the bubble.

_I've got to get to Nessa, I've got to save her!_ Glinda thought as she made it back outside. The sun was starting to rise, and only a small sliver of light was pouring over the Emerald City. Glinda summoned her own bubble as fast as possible, and shot up into the sky like a bullet. Without even looking back, Glinda started flying towards Munchkinland faster than she had ever traveled before.

Within a minute or two, Glinda noticed the sun was no longer shining as it rose over the horizon, that clouds had quickly formed throughout the sky. Within a few more seconds, Glinda saw the rain start, but she didn't slow down, needing to get to Nessa. However, Glinda's attention was turned away from Nessa when she felt a raindrop land on her nose. _My bubble is supposed to protect me from the weather,_ Glinda was thinking rapidly as she felt another raindrop hit her arm. _This must be Madame Morrible's doing, a magical storm_, Glinda realized, causing her to push further forward towards Munchkinland with even more determination than before. However, the storm was just as fast as Glinda, and soon it was pouring, drenching Glinda from head to toe.

"Ow!" Glinda cried out loud as she felt something hit her arm. She looked around and realized, to her horror, the rain had suddenly changed to hail. With large pieces of hail pushing through the bubble, Glinda was now getting pelted with the pieces of ice, causing her to bruise almost instantly. Looking up, Glinda saw a piece of hail the size of a golf ball streaking towards her bubble. Glinda tried to dodge the large piece of hail, but it was no use. The went through one end of the bubble and out the other, causing it to pop. Before Glinda could even comprehend what was happening, she felt herself plummeting towards the ground. Screaming, Glinda tried to conjure another bubble, but it was no use. She felt herself accelerating as she neared the ground, and Glinda squeezed her eyes shut as she anticipated the impact. However, Glinda was shocked to feel herself slow to a stop, and actually starting moving away from the ground. However, the shock and the pain from the hail had been too much for Glinda, and she felt herself losing consciousness. As her eyes fluttered closed, the last thing she saw was a pair of green hands holding her up.


	11. Chapter 11

Glinda's head felt like it weighed a million pounds as she slowly regained consciousness, and her eyes were slow to open. But as Glinda regained her senses, she could hear a hushed conversation taking place nearby.

"She might tell them where we are!" a male voice whispered. "She has every right to hate us."

"We can't just leave her here!" a female voice responded quietly. "We'll have to risk it, we owe her that much…"

Glinda stirred a little, obviously catching the attention of the two conversing. She heard footsteps approach, and slowly let her eyes creep open. Leaning over her were the two figures, and although things were still blurry, she could immediately tell who they were. The first blur still seemed to be wearing his Captain of the Guard uniform, the same one he was wearing the day he left Glinda. Also, his strong jaw line and muscular build were unmistakable. The second figure was even more recognizable: even though her features were still blurry, the woman's emerald green skin was unmistakable.

"Glinda? Glinda, can you hear me?" Elphaba said quietly, yet urgently.

"Elphaba? Fiyero?" Glinda looked back and forth between the two faces as their features became clear. As her physical abilities returned, so did Glinda's emotions, for seeing Fiyero and Elphaba standing in front of her brought back a flood of emotions. Anger, sadness, jealousy, all of the emotions she had been experiencing came rushing back to Glinda with new vigor.

"Glinda, are you alright, are you in any pain?" Fiyero asked.

Glinda looked at Fiyero, her once-lover, her once-fiance. Even the sound of his voice brought back a new wave of emotional pain. _I'm going with her,_ she could hear Fiyero's voice echoing in her head, remembered the look on his face when he admitted to Glinda that he was leaving her.

Glinda sat up slowly, noticing a few bruises on her arms. It was then that the recent events came to mind. _The Wizard, Madame Morrible, the hail, Elphaba….Nessa!!_

"Oh thank Oz you're alright!" Elphaba sighed as Glinda sat up. "I could hardly get to you in time, I-"

"Nessa!" Glinda yelled aloud, cutting Elphaba off.

"What?" Elphaba questioned, throwing Fiyero a confused look.

"Nessa! Did you save Nessa?"

"Glinda, what are you talking about?" Fiyero asked, looking her over, "Did you hit your head or something?"

However, Elphaba could tell that Glinda was serious. "Who's going to hurt her? Do you think I'm too late?"

"Madame Morrible! And I don't know, how long have I been out?" Glinda asked while looking around.

But Elphaba didn't bother to answer, she was already moving away from where Glinda was standing. "I have to go to Nessa," Elphaba said to no one in particular.

"I'll go with you," Fiyero stood and walked towards Elphaba.

"No you can't, it's too dangerous," Elphaba said sternly. "Besides," she started more quietly, "you should stay here with Glinda."

Glinda watched as the two began a hushed conversation. She looked on as they talked, Elphaba with an urgent look in her eyes. She put her hand in his, which made Glinda shudder slightly. Although she knew Elphaba and Fiyero had been together ever since running off, seeing them together brought things to a whole new level of reality. They finally finished their conversation and Elphaba turned to leave, but Fiyero pulled her back. Glinda gasped as she saw Fiyero pull her in for a long, passionate kiss.

Glinda wanted to turn away, she didn't want to see the truth. But like a bad car accident, Glinda couldn't turn away, couldn't even blink. Glinda sat their, bruised and defeated, a tear rolling down her cheek as she watched her former best friend and former fiancé in each other's embrace. Elphaba and Fiyero finally parted and, without looking back, Elphaba ran with her broom in hand. With that, Glinda and Fiyero were left alone, staring helplessly at each other.

With Elphaba gone, Fiyero turned to look at Glinda. Glinda quickly brought her gaze down to her hands, unable to handle his piercing gaze and look of pity. _I don't need pity…ESPECIALLY from you,_ Glinda thought angrily, knowing she was better than that. However, Glinda's gaze moved from her hands to her arms and the rest of her body. _I must look like a mess_, Glinda realized as she took notice of the bruises from the hail. They looked worse than the felt, looking dark against her pale skin. Glinda's dress was dirty and tattered, and Glinda was certain her hair and make-up were in similar condition. _Fiyero never saw me looking anything less than perfect,_ Glinda thought as she sighed. In all the years they had dated, Glinda had always sought to be perfect for Fiyero…so that they would be perfect together. She always said the right things, always looked ready for the occasion, and did whatever she could to make him happy. _Apparently it wasn't enough,_ Glinda thought sadly, and looked up at Fiyero as a tear rolled down her cheek.

To Glinda's surprise, Fiyero had approached quietly while she had been looking away, and now he was kneeling only feet from where she sat.

"Are you alright?" Fiyero asked, taking notice of Glinda's wet eyes.

"Ha, how do I even answer a question like that," Glinda said sarcastically, wiping her tears with the back of her hand.

"Well, are you in any pain?" Fiyero asked, handing her a handkerchief from his pocket.

"Oh this?" Glinda asked while motioning at her bruises, "I'll heal, I'm fine."

"I didn't mean just the bruises," he said, sitting down next to her. "Glinda I am so sorry," he blurted out.

Although Glinda could hear from the tone of his voice that the apology was genuine, she rounded on him angrily. "For what?" she asked.

"You know what I'm talking about, Glinda…" Fiyero said quietly, struggling to make eye contact with her.

"Frankly I don't!" Glinda threw her arms in the air as she glared at him. "Are you sorry you left me with no explanation?! Or are you sorry that you and my former best friend are now lovers?!"

Fiyero sat their in silence now, afraid to make eye contact. Finally, he sighed and said, "What happened wasn't planned, you have to understand that. It's not like we had been carrying on an affair or anything…I was never unfaithful to you, Glinda."

They finally both had the courage to look each other in the eyes. Although Glinda was still rather infuriated, the scent of Fiyero overwhelmed her. His natural scent had always been appealing to Glinda, always gave her butterflies. And the look in his eyes, his strong jaw line, the smoothness of his lips, it brought the memories flooding back to Glinda. "So was it just a rash decision?" Glinda asked hopefully, "Just a lapse in judgment?"

Fiyero stumbled over his words, obviously not knowing how to answer correctly. Glinda's mind was running a mile a minute, trying to dissect the situation. _Maybe he's in love with me after all! Oh don't be silly Glinda, you saw him, he loves Elphaba now! And besides, you already decided that you deserve better! But I wasn't sitting inches from him then…_

In spite of herself, Glinda made a rash decision. Before Fiyero had even managed to form a real sentence in his response, Glinda leaned forward quickly, grabbing the back of Fiyero's neck, pulling him in. In an instant their lips met, they were kissing. Glinda couldn't tell whether or not Fiyero was kissing her back, but she was surprised by her own reaction. Although the lips were familiar, and although the kiss was familiar, it wasn't the same as before. _Oh my Oz,_ Glinda realized, _I'm not in love with Fiyero anymore_. Even though seeing him again had brought back a lot of memories, she suddenly remembered what had transpired the last few weeks. Although it had been hard, she had gone on without him, became her own person. The kiss reminded Glinda of who she once was, a person she didn't want to be anymore. She would always care about Fiyero, but she had moved on.

Glinda leaned back and ended the kiss looking at Fiyero's face which was full of confusion. Glinda was about to apologize and explain her feelings when she saw something move out of the corner of her eye. Turning, she saw Elphaba standing only a few feet away, her broom in one hand and a pair of ruby-red shoes in the other. Tears running down her cheeks and mouth hanging open, Elphaba quickly turned and ran from Glinda and Fiyero.

Fiyero could only sit in stunned silence, having just kissed his former fiancé and watched his current lover run off. But Glinda, understanding the gravity of the situation, said the words Fiyero could not.

"Elphaba, wait!" Glinda yelled, jumping up, grabbing her wand, and running after the emerald woman. Glinda had to pause for a moment when she stood, as she was still very dizzy from her recent injuries. But this was too important, Glinda knew she couldn't wait. Her head still spinning, Glinda took off at a sprint, heels and all. She could see Elphaba running through the woods only a few yards away, but Glinda struggled to dodge trees and bushes to keep up. Tree branches whipped against Glinda's arms, bringing a new wave of pain to the bruises that already existed.

Suddenly, the blonde had to squint her eyes as an unknown source of light seemed to be up ahead. Glinda's eyes adjusted as she realized it was a clearing in the forest, and the sun was shining brightly, washing over both women. Glinda watched as Elphaba began mounting her broom once reaching the clearing. Although she moved slowly with the pair of ruby slippers in her hands, Glinda cursed out loud as Elphaba took off. Conjuring her bubble while running, Glinda jumped into the bubble and began to rise quickly, following Elphaba.

Pulling up next to the woman on her broom, Glinda screamed, "Elphaba, stop! You have to stop!"

"Go away!" Elphaba yelled, trying to control the broom while holding onto Nessa's shoes.

"Elphaba, that wasn't what it looked like!" Glinda yelled over at her friend, her bubble bouncing up and down due to lack of concentration. Elphaba, obviously distraught, was also having trouble controlling the broom, as she was shaking in the air as well. "Elphaba, we're both going to get ourselves killed if we try to have this conversation up here! Besides, Morrible is probably watching the skies for us anyway!"

Glinda watched Elphaba's face as she considered her options. Finally, Elphaba must have realized that Glinda would not give up easily, and began to descend on her broom, moving back towards the clearing. Glinda let out a sigh of relief, following Elphaba slowly back towards the ground. By the time Glinda set foot on the ground, Elphaba was now standing only inches from the blonde, looking more upset and angry than Glinda had ever seen her.

"I can't believe you Glinda!" Elphaba yelled while standing only inches apart from each other, causing Glinda to shrink back slightly in fear. It had been a long time since the two had stood as enemies, it was not since Shiz that they had stared at each other with such loathing.

"Elphaba, you don't understand what happened back there! I was upset and Fiyero was trying to comfort me…I had a moment of weakness, that's all," Glinda sighed, not really knowing what to say.

"You always thought you deserved the best of everything, didn't you?" Elphaba spat angrily. "And you always wanted what you couldn't have! Well guess what Glinda, he's not yours anymore!" Elphaba yelled. The words stung, and kept Glinda silent. Although she knew it was over between her and Fiyero, it felt like Elphaba was intentionally rubbing salt in a fresh wound. "And what kind of friend are you? I just finished saving your life and you try to steal him away..." Elphaba mumbled, finally turning away from Glinda.

"Excuse me?!" It was Glinda's turn to be angry now. "Fiyero and I spent years, YEARS Elphaba, trying to find you! Everyday we were always worried about where you were or what you were doing or if you were even safe! You were my best friend and you left me!"

"Glinda, you know I couldn't write or visit, the Wizard would have-"

But Glinda was not finished. "And then, after years of hearing NOTHING, you suddenly show up one day and take away the only other person that mattered to me. You took my fiancé away from me Elphaba!"

"But he doesn't love you!" Elphaba's words made Glinda stop in a heartbeat. Glinda was mad. She was mad at Elphaba, at Fiyero, at the world. But she couldn't deny Elphaba's words, or their validity. Elphaba took advantage of the silence, this time speaking more calmly. "Glinda, I know what Fiyero and I did was wrong, and it has killed me everyday to think of what pain I've put you through…" Glinda looked like she was about to interrupt, but Elphaba started again, "And I know that doesn't make it any less painful, and it doesn't make things okay, but I am…we are truly, truly sorry."

Glinda's eyes moved to meet Elphaba's as the silence overwhelmed the pair. Elphaba's eyes were wet with tears and seemed to be pleading, begging Glinda to forgive her. Glinda suddenly realized that she was also crying, overwhelmed with emotion. Part of her still wanted to be mad at Elphaba and Fiyero, and she knew she certainly had the right to be. But she also longed to be their friends once again. She had come such a long way in the last few weeks, she was no longer the same person: she was wiser, more mature, and certainly more forgiving.

Glinda's eyes broke contact with Elphaba's for a moment when she saw a sparkle of light in Elphaba's hands. Looking down, Glinda saw the pair of ruby shoes still clutched in Elphaba's hands. The shoes reminded Glinda of Nessa, and of the lessons they taught each other during their time together. Although she couldn't be there now, Glinda truly felt like Nessa was looking down on the pair, encouraging forgiveness. And with that Glinda burst into tears, dropping her wand and running towards Elphaba. Her friend did the same, dropping her broom and the shoes with just enough time to pull Glinda into a hug. It was the first time the two had hugged in quite some time, and it was the most genuine display of love and affection the two had ever exhibited. The two hugged for the longest time, crying in each other's arms, offering wordless apologies and mutual forgiveness.


	12. Chapter 12

Glinda held Elphaba tight for the longest time. They had hugged back at the Wizard's palace, right before Elphaba had left with Fiyero, but the moment had been fleeting. She remembered the moment longingly, the last happy moment before things had come crashing down.

"_What's going on in here?" Glinda had said, running to the Wizard's inner chambers after hearing a scuffle. She had heard the echoes of her own heels on the stone floor come to a stop as she entered the room. She had to blink a few times when she had seen Elphaba standing there, for Glinda had imagined it so many times. _

"_Elphie?" she had asked apprehensively, then rushed forward as Elphaba nodded and offered an awkward smile. Glinda had never felt so happy, standing there with her arms wrapped around Elphaba, after being worried about her safety for so long._

That moment had been so wonderful, and yet so short-lived. However, Glinda did not want to remember what came next, since it didn't really matter anymore. Right now, all she wanted to think about was being reunited with Elphaba, seeing her best friend again. Finally releasing each other from their hug, Elphaba and Glinda were able to look each other in the eyes once more. The two had tears streaming down their cheeks, but both were smiling, and Glinda couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculous they both looked as they continued crying. However, the smile left Glinda's face when she remembered the ruby-red slippers, now discarded on the grassy hill of the clearing. Glinda moved away from Elphaba, reaching down to pick up a shoe. Plopping down on the ground, Glinda picked up the left shoe, holding it delicately in her hand. It sparkled as clearly as ever, it barely even looked worn. Elphaba moved next to Glinda, picking up the right shoe, sitting down beside her.

"I was on my way to save her," Glinda murmured, letting sadness take over again, "I…I should've been able to save her."

"Glinda, no!" Elphaba put a hand on the blonde's shoulder, "this is not your fault, you did everything you could! It's a miracle you even survived!"

Glinda looked up at Elphaba, wordlessly thanking her for saving her life. "But I was the only one who knew it would happen," she sighed, "if I hadn't blacked out, I could have told you sooner, you could have flown off to rescue her…"

"Glinda, you cannot blame yourself for Nessa's death!" Elphaba said sternly. "You cannot live your life wondering 'what if'…you did everything you could." Elphaba sighed as she finished, obviously letting it sink in that her sister was gone.

Now it was Glinda's turn to be comforting. "She forgave you," Glinda smiled, making Elphaba look up with a start, looking Glinda in the eyes. "For what happened with Boq, she forgave you. She wanted to find you, we tried to find you. But I know she forgave you."

"But I ruined things for her!" Elphaba was crying now. "She was with Boq, and was the Governor of Munchkinland for Oz sake!" She stopped as she sobbed for a moment. "Then I took it all away from her!"

"You did not!" Glinda squeaked, yet said so sternly. "You said so yourself Elphaba, you can't live your life wondering 'what if.' I was with her the day before…" she trailed off, not wanting to finish the thought. "She confided in me Elphaba, and I know in my heart that she forgave you."

"You're not, you're not just saying that?" Elphaba asked desperately, still wiping away tears.

"Of course not," Glinda smiled, hugging her friend again. Releasing Elphaba, she became serious again. "When you went to Munchkinland, how did you get her shoes? I mean, what happened?"

Wiping the last of her tears, Elphaba stood up, then helped Glinda do the same. "I think we should go tell Fiyero we're alright and then we can both explain everything, okay?"

Glinda smiled and nodded in agreement, brushing herself off after standing up. Glinda and Elphaba picked up their wand and broom respectively and walked, hand in hand, back to Fiyero.

Glinda and Elphaba walked together through the forest, wordlessly retracing their steps back to Fiyero. Although they had to dart around an absurd number of trees, branches, and bushes, Glinda and Elphaba never lost their grip on each other's hand. It had been so long since the two had been there for each other, neither one was letting go now.

Finally, the women found there way back to where they'd left Fiyero. Glinda couldn't help but stifle a laugh as Fiyero came to view, for he was still sitting on the ground, looking as stunned as when Elphaba and Glinda had left him there. But the noise of Elphaba's and Glinda's approach seemed to snap him out of his trance, as he made eye contact with the two women.

"Elphaba?" he said quietly as he stood up, as if he didn't believe she had come back. Elphaba nodded and smiled at Fiyero, and watched as he rushed towards her. Glinda broke her grip with Elphaba for a moment so that Fiyero and Elphaba could embrace.

Although his voice was hushed, Glinda could hear Fiyero pleading quietly. "Elphaba, I'm so sorry about what you saw, but you know I love you, I want to be with you, please know that!" Glinda felt like the words should have hurt more to hear, but more than anything, she felt glad to see her two best friends so happy. Seeing the two together, it was inexplicably clear that they were meant to be together. In fact, their chemistry seemed so natural, Glinda couldn't believe she hadn't seen it earlier. _Hardly my place to stand in the way of love like that,_ she smiled, feeling genuinely happy for her friends.

"Shhhh, Fiyero, I know, it's okay," Elphaba soothed her lover, and the two shared a kiss. Glinda felt a little embarrassed standing so close to the pair during such a private and intimate moment, so she moved away from the pair. But she had only moved a few feet when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Glinda turned to see Fiyero standing next to her, still with a pleading look in his eyes.

"Glinda, I am so sorry," Fiyero said, "I never meant to hurt you, and I'm sorry I couldn't kiss you back over there, but my heart is somewhere else," he said while gesturing towards Elphaba. Reading the look on his face, Glinda could tell that both his apology to her and his love for Elphaba were genuine.

"I know," Glinda smiled. She thought she would need to force one of her plastered smiles to convince Fiyero, the same smile she used whenever greeting the Ozians. But Glinda was surprised to find that a true smile came naturally. "I know you would never hurt me," Glinda continued, "you just…love her."

As Glinda gestured towards her friend, Elphaba moved towards the pair. The three smiled at each other awkwardly yet happily as they moved in for a group hug. Trying to lighten the mood when they released each other, Glinda joked "Now Fiyero, is there anything else you feel the need to apologize for, or can we move on?"

Elphaba laughed as Fiyero seemed to be genuinely racking his brain for anything else. But after a moment he also realized that Glinda was kidding, and the three shared a laugh. The trio sat down on the ground as they finished laughing, and Glinda cleared her throat, "Well get comfortable friends, I think we have a lot to discuss."

Elphaba and Fiyero exchanged nervous glances, which Glinda perceived as them wondering if Glinda was going to pry into the origins of their relationship. Glinda smiled a bit as she thought of questions that could make them squirm. _So when did you two know you were in love? Did you have feelings for each other back at Shiz? Had you been secretly meeting all the time Elphaba was supposedly missing? How serious is the relationship?_ But Glinda didn't really want to know the answers yet, for it was still a touchy subject for all three. However, Glinda did want everyone to understand what had transpired for all three the last few weeks.

"So the last few weeks, where have you two been hiding?" Glinda worded her question carefully, not wanting much more information than she had asked for.

Fiyero was first to respond, "Here mostly. Just out here in the forest, since no one really comes out here. Besides, Elphaba's already naturally camouflaged for the environment."

Glinda laughed as Elphaba elbowed him for the joke, then smiled as Elphaba continued. "There's a cave about ten minutes in that direction that we can use when it's cold or when weather's bad, but we've been pretty comfortable out here. It's pretty similar to what I've been doing ever since I disappeared, but I'm afraid it's been a bit of an adjustment for Fiyero," she smiled, looking over at her lover.

Glinda really took a moment to survey the two, and realized how much the pair must be roughing it. In the few weeks Fiyero had been gone, his clothes seemed to be hanging much looser on his body than before. Also, although Glinda had seen very little of Elphaba since Shiz, she also looked noticeably thinner, with her cheekbones even more prominent than before. The pair also looked a little pale and tired, and Glinda couldn't help but pity the pair, but then quickly changed her mind. Looking at the pair once more, she looked past their loose clothes and pale complexions to realize that neither one had ever looked happier.

"I have a few Animal friends in the area that have been providing us with some food," Elphaba continued, as if she had been reading Glinda's mind. "But we've been getting by fine. Again, it's only been a few weeks, so we're still trying to figure everything out ourselves…" Elphaba trailed off, and Glinda feared they were going to start discussing details she didn't want to hear. Fortunately, Elphaba and Glinda must have been having the same thought, for she quickly changed the subject, "So what about you? You said you were with Nessa?"

"Really?" Fiyero cut in. "We talked a lot about finding you, about talking to you, but we thought you'd be secluded in the Wizard's palace, we knew we couldn't risk it. If we had known you were with Nessa, we would have tried to find you sooner…"

"I know, but I'm glad you didn't," Glinda said truthfully, which warranted a surprised look from Fiyero, so Glinda explained, "I needed time to heal, and to think things through. If the two of you had come to see me a week or two ago, I don't think I would have cared to listen to the apologies."

A bit of awkwardness seemed to set in. Although the trio were all more than aware of the situation, everyone seemed scared to really talk about it. Avoiding anymore unnecessary awkwardness, Glinda got back on track. "Yes, I spent about two weeks with Nessa, up until the day before…well, the day before the storm," Glinda finished, still unable to use the words _Nessa_ and _dead_ in the same sentence.

"Why were you with Nessa though, I thought you two hadn't seen each other since back at Shiz?" Elphaba inquired. "Did she come find you?"

"No, I sought her out actually," Glinda thought back to the bottle, visiting their old dorm room, spending time with Nessa. "After you left, the Wizard offered me a drink," Glinda started.

"A drink?" Fiyero echoed, obviously confused by the seemingly random information Glinda was recounting.

"Yes, a drink. It was from a little glass bottle, a ridged one, and it was filled with green liquid." Fiyero still looked confused, but Glinda and Elphaba exchanged knowing glances.

"Ummm…I don't get it," Fiyero felt left out, realizing that Elphaba and Glinda were on the same page.

"I always kept an identical bottle with me," Elphaba started, "it had belonged to my mother, it was the only keepsake I had of hers. I never saw another little bottle like it."

"So why would the Wizard have an identical bottle?" Fiyero questioned, still a step behind the women. But suddenly, it seemed to click in his head, "Oh wait, you're not implying that…he can't be…Elphaba's father?"

Glinda expected Elphaba to look shocked by Fiyero's question, but she was obviously wondering the same thing. Although Elphaba had never been close with Frex, Glinda could see Elphaba's pleading eyes, desperately wanting the truth.

"Well that's what I tried to find out," Glinda sighed. "I went to see Nessa, and we rummaged through the attic at the Governor's Mansion, and we found an old picture of Melena and the Wizard…"

"Melena? Elphaba's mother?" Fiyero asked. Elphaba nodded wordlessly, her eyes encouraging Glinda to explain.

"So Nessa and I tried to uncover some information. We struggled to find a definitive answer, but we learned that the two used to meet secretly years ago," Glinda explained.

"So it wasn't just a one-time thing?" Elphaba asked urgently.

"It looks like it was going on for a few years," Glinda sighed, knowing that this must be a hard blow for Elphaba to take.

"So how did the Wizard get away with sneaking around like that?" Fiyero questioned.

"They were discreet," Glinda sighed, "and it was a long time ago, right before…"

"…right before I was born," Elphaba finished Glinda's sentence, letting the truth set in.

"So Elphaba is the Wizard's daughter?" Fiyero asked incredulously, being the last of the group to understand what was going on. "Have you spoken to the Wizard about this?"

"Well I went to go see him," Glinda sighed, knowing that the story was now getting close to present-day. "I left Nessa in Munchkinland, and went to go talk to the Wizard. Only when I found him, he was…" Glinda didn't want to finish her sentence. She had just finished telling Elphaba that the Wizard was her father, and now it was her responsibility to tell Elphaba that her father was dead.

"What? When you found him, he was what?" Elphaba asked urgently. It was the first time since the beginning of the conversation that Elphaba hadn't been able to finish Glinda's thought, and it pained the blonde to have to share such terrible news.

"I'm sorry Elphaba," was all Glinda could manage at first, letting a tear roll down her cheek. The Wizard had been like a second father to Glinda, so she shared the pain Elphaba would soon be facing. "When I found him, I was too late…"

Elphaba's face looked like it had turned to stone. Glinda tried to read the emotion on her friend's face, but Elphaba was doing a good job of hiding whatever she was feeling. Glinda imagined it must be mixed emotions, for the Wizard was the main person she had been fighting all these years. Yet, to lose your father, Glinda imagined it must feel terrible for Elphaba.

"Oh no," Fiyero mumbled, realizing the grim truth that Glinda was explaining. Fiyero moved over a bit to sit closer to Elphaba, putting an arm around her in support. Glinda wiped away a few tears, still waiting for Elphaba to display some emotion. "What happened?" Fiyero asked, wanting more information from Glinda.

"Morrible," Glinda said simply. Both Fiyero and Elphaba looked up at hearing this answer, staring Glinda right in the eye. "I don't know how she killed him, but she wants to rule Oz. She killed the Wizard so she could take his power."

"But if the Wizard's dead, wouldn't Elphaba be next in line to take power?" Fiyero questioned.

"Yes, and Morrible knows it. She was going to kill me and Nessa because we knew too much, then she was coming after Elphaba. That's when I ran, to go warn Nessa, but then the storm came and Elphaba saved me and…well, here we are." Glinda let the remaining information out quickly, for she wanted to stop causing Elphaba pain. But Elphaba still looked emotionless, staring at nothing in particular, as if she hadn't processed anything Glinda had said.

Finally, worrying that Elphaba had gone into some kind of shock, she finally questioned Elphaba. "What happened when you went to Munchkinland?"

Elphaba finally looked up at Glinda, making eye contact. Her eyes looked cold and sad, but Elphaba answered Glinda's question. "It was very quiet when I got there, the storm had already passed," she said quietly. "It looked like a tornado had gone through or something, and there was this house in the middle of Munchkinland. I went down to investigate, and I saw a glimmer of red next to the house. I went to take a closer look, and it was her shoes," Elphaba sobbed a bit, referencing the ruby-red slippers. "The rest of her must have been under the house, it must have crushed her, for all I could see were the pair of shoes…" she trailed off for a moment, and Fiyero squeezed Elphaba's shoulder supportively. Brushing away a few tears, she finally continued, "Anyway, I would have tried to figure out what happen, but someone suddenly came out of the house, some girl. So I ran off and came back here."

The three sat in silence for a long time, processing the information they had just shared. Finally, Glinda spoke up, "I think we need to go back."

"Where?" Elphaba said, a tone of helplessness hidden in her voice.

"To Munchkinland, I think you and I need to go back Elphaba."

"Glinda, do you really think that's the best idea? You are probably two of the most recognizable faces in Oz, and Morrible wants you both dead! Besides, have a little sensitivity, her sister just died," Fiyero pointed out.

"I know, and I'm sorry, you know I'm truly sorry Elphaba," Glinda sighed, to which Elphaba nodded silently. "But to protect Elphaba, we need proof that she's the rightful heir to the Wizard's throne. The picture of the Wizard and Melena, that's all we have right now, and it's back at the Governor's Mansion. We'll go at night, we'll stay hidden, but we need that picture."

"No Glinda, I don't think that's the best-"

"She's right," Elphaba interrupted Fiyero. "We need to get that picture. We'll go at sunset."

Fiyero considered arguing, but could see that both women were very determined. Slowly, he nodded in agreement, and helped Elphaba and Glinda plan their mission.


	13. Chapter 13

The sun had finally crossed below the horizon, and dark spread over the woods where Glinda was now in hiding with Elphaba and Fiyero. In all the weeks she had spent looking for them, she never imagined herself becoming a fugitive along with them, avoiding the public eye at all costs. Glinda found it particularly ironic that the public's attention, the one thing she used to crave and thrive on, was now what she feared the most. However, despite the drastic transition, Glinda found the change thrilling, showing she no longer had a dependency on the acceptance of others.

However, what Glinda did not look forward to was the danger involved with being a fugitive. The blonde did not doubt for a moment that Madame Morrible was doing anything possible to find the trio. However, Glinda couldn't help but wonder what strategy Morrible was using. _Had she announced the Wizard's death and managed to frame us? Was she hiding the death and sending the Wizard's guards to hunt us down while keeping things quiet? I'll have to find a newspaper and find out,_ Glinda thought as she sat on her own, giving Elphaba and Fiyero a moment to themselves before their separation. Although all three had been adamant that the women would be safe and would return in no time, Glinda could tell that they were all having unspoken doubts. Fiyero had made a good point earlier, she and Elphaba were the two most famous faces in Oz. Traveling to Munckinland, breaking into the Governor's Mansion, finding the picture, and returning to Fiyero involved a lot of luck and stealth, and everyone was having serious doubts. However, without a good alternative, Elphaba and Glinda put on strong faces as they prepared to leave.

"Ready to go?" Glinda heard Elphaba say as she felt a hand on her shoulder.

Glinda turned to face Elphaba, nodding as noticed her friend's nervous smile. Glinda tried to lighten the mood, "So…broom or bubble?"

Elphaba laughed at Glinda's humor. "Well I doubt you want to ride on this filthy, old thing," Elphaba sighed as she stared at her own broom. "Besides," she smiled, "I've always wanted to be able to come and go by bubble!"

Glinda laughed, but stayed on subject. "Alright, but bring the broom, just in case something…happens…" Glinda didn't want to finish the sentence.

"Glinda, nothing is going to happen," Elphaba looked her friend in the eyes, showing as much confidence as possible. However, Glinda took notice of Elphaba grabbing her broom before departing, showing her unspoken doubt. Nevertheless, despite any worries or doubts, it was time to go. Fiyero hugged each woman goodbye, holding Elphaba for an extra moment, pulling her in as tight as possible. Finally releasing his lover, Fiyero watched sadly as Elphaba and Glinda walked, hand in hand, towards the clearing in the woods. Once they were no longer near any low-cutting branches, Glinda used her wand to conjure a large bubble. Glinda stepped inside, and then helped Elphaba do the same. Glinda noticed how bravely Elphaba entered the bubble, very unlike her sister. Nessa is the only person Glinda had ever shared a bubble with, and now letting Elphaba in felt incredibly symbolic. And although this mission served as a way to ensure the trio's safety, Glinda also perceived the excursion as a way to say goodbye to Nessa.

Glinda raised the bubble up in the air, and both she and Elphaba looked down on the forest as the trees became smaller and smaller. Once they were hundreds of feet in the air, partially hidden in the clouds, Glinda moved the bubble in the direction of Munchkinland. Finishing the journey she had attempted a few days earlier, Glinda felt far too late, like this trip was a bitter attempt to fix things. But Glinda knew she couldn't turn back the clocks, and she needed to accept the truth.

However, the feeling of guilt, mourning, and dread came rushing back to Glinda as Munchkinland came into view. Glinda could feel Elphaba's hand tighten in her own, and the change in grip indicated that Elphaba was feeling the same thing. Glinda sighed silently as they began to descend on the far side of Munchkinland, a heavily wooded area where she and Elphaba could plan their next action.

After landing, Glinda and Elphaba crept to the edge of the woods, able to overlook the town square. Silence had overwhelmed the town, it was nothing like the way Glinda remembered it from only a few days earlier.

As if reading Glinda's mind, Elphaba whispered, "I think most of the people in the town left after the cyclone, it was pretty empty when I was here the first time."

Glinda nodded in understanding. Indeed, Munchkinland looked eerily different from before. Not only did the silence and lack of life create an odd ambiance, but the town looked in general disarray. Many smaller plants had been uprooted by the storm, and many of the Munchkins' homes looked at least somewhat damaged. However, the biggest change from Glinda's last visit was the house sitting in the middle of the town. _Oh Nessa,_ Glinda thought remorsefully as she stared at the house sadly, remembering the way Nessa met her demise. The house was not particularly big, and it looked in extreme disrepair, likely due to the storm. In face, the house was in such bad shape that it looked like a strong wind would make the entire structure collapse.

Communicating wordlessly, Glinda and Elphaba decided that it was safe to move into the town, and the pair crept slowly out of the forest. The pair moved as quietly as possible, but Glinda's heels clicked lightly against the road of yellow brick that they stood upon. Fortunately, it seemed no one was around to hear it, causing Glinda to sigh deeply and relax a bit. Elphaba seemed to be moving straight towards the Governor's Mansion, but Glinda found herself being drawn to the foreign house. She moved closer, looking for any sign of Nessa, but saw nothing to that end.

Elphaba moved up behind Glinda, whispering, "I could hardly even see the shoes when I was here, I couldn't see anything more than the shoes either."

"I suppose it's for the best that's all we could see," Glinda sighed, having expected to encounter a much more gruesome scene.

Elphaba was quickly becoming both worried and emotional, and said urgently, "Come on Glinda, let's go."

"I'll be right there," Glinda said, still unable to take her eyes off the house. As much as Glinda wanted to move away, to forget the pain that had befallen Nessa, Glinda knew she needed to pay her last respects. Grabbing a few flowers from a nearby garden, Glinda placed the makeshift bouquet at the base of the house and knelt down on the ground. Glinda could feel Elphaba's presence only a few feet away, but she didn't care that her friend was witnessing such a private moment, for Glinda knew she owed at least this much to Nessa.

"Oh Nessa…Nessa, please forgive me!" Glinda whispered as a few tears streaked down her cheeks.

"Glinda, don't blame yourself!" Elphaba rushed to her friend's side, kneeling down in front of the house as well. Elphaba sighed, clearly at a loss for words, the best she could come up with being, "I guess accidents will happen."

Glinda turned to look her friend in the eye, "Elphaba, you know as well as I do that this was no accident!"

"I know, but this was not your doing!" Elphaba responded quickly, and Glinda could not argue this point. "Glinda, the best thing we can do to honor and remember Nessa is to stop the person who hurt her, to bring Morrible to justice."

Glinda didn't want to leave the base of the house, as if it would magically bring Nessa back. But she knew Elphaba was right, she knew they had to move on. They needed to find the picture, they needed to reclaim Elphaba's right as heir to Oz, and they needed to bring Madame Morrible to justice. Dusting herself off as she stood, Glinda wiped her tears and nodded, and the two women moved silently towards the Governor's mansion.

Elphaba and Glinda stood side-by-side as they walked quietly towards the Governor's Mansion. Some shingles were now missing from the roof, but the structure seemed overall unchanged from the cyclone. Glad to see that the building was not about to collapse, Glinda moved towards the front door, turned the knob, and pushed the door open.

The front door creaked open slowly, and Glinda felt the warm, stagnant air hit her face as she entered the foyer. The house certainly looked familiar, but felt oddly different. As unwelcoming as the house had seemed before, now it seemed even more so. Even with Elphaba standing at her side, the house was not the same without Nessa.

Glinda looked over at Elphaba, noticing her wet eyes. It took Glinda a moment to remember that this is where Elphaba used to live, and it probably brought back many memories. Memories of her mother, memories of the man she always thought was her father, memories of her sister….Glinda also realized that the last time she was here, it was when she helped Nessa gain the ability to walk, but things went terribly wrong with Boq. As they walked into the parlor off the foyer, Glinda looked for Nessa's wheelchair. She remembered the last time she saw it, collecting dust in the corner of the room like a piece of trash. But now, it would mean so much more, and would represent a symbolic loss.

Elphaba looked over as Glinda gasped lightly. "What, what is it?" Elphaba whispered urgently.

"No, um, nothing," Glinda mumbled, but didn't remove her eyes from the empty corner of the room. _Why is her wheelchair gone?_ Glinda thought in a bit of a panic. She couldn't imagine why anyone would want to steal her wheelchair, and tried to think of any possible solutions. _Maybe she just moved it, or maybe the citizens of Munchkinland took it because they didn't like her as Governor._

"Glinda, what are you staring at?" Elphaba repeated, obviously concerned by her friend's odd behavior.

Glinda finally removed her stare from the corner of the room and looked at Elphaba. "Really, it's nothing," Glinda tried to reason, but could not avoid Elphaba's look of concern, "it's just that-"

Glinda stopped mid-sentence when both women heard a loud thud coming from inside the house. Glinda and Elphaba snapped into action, holding their wand and broom respectively as if ready to defend themselves. They looked anxiously around the room for any movement, but found none. The room suddenly seemed much more dark than before, and silence enveloped the room.

Somewhat letting her guard down, Glinda turned towards Elphaba and murmured, "You heard that too, right?"

"Yes, there's somebody else in this house," Elphaba whispered with conviction.

"Are you sure," Glinda asked with some skepticism, "could it just be the house creaking? After the cyclone and all, maybe the place isn't-"

"No," Elphaba interrupted, "we're not alone, I can feel it."

Glinda looked around nervously, never having been so afraid in her life. "Do you think someone followed us in here?"

"Maybe, it sounded like it came from the foyer…"

Elphaba and Glinda continued to strain their ears, listening for any other noises. And, to Glinda's astonishment and fear, she too realized they weren't alone. Although it was incredibly quiet, Glinda could hear murmured voices coming from the foyer. The women communicated without words, and Glinda realized Elphaba could hear the voices too. Holding their wand and broom ready, the women crept towards the entrance to the foyer, ready to attack whoever had followed them. Finally, Elphaba and Glinda found themselves right at the foyer entryway, hidden by the partitioned wall. The women exchanged one more knowing look, nodded at each other in understanding, and jumped into the doorway to the foyer.

Screams echoed through the foyer as the two parties encountered each other. Glinda's eyes failed to adjust to the darkness properly, but she could see two figures directly in front of her. Glinda continued to point her wand at the mystery figures, trying to discern their identities. Although she still could not see their faces, a sliver of moonlight rushed through the front windows, causing the silver of one figure to shine against the light.

"Boq?" Glinda murmured, not believing her eyes. Although she could not see his face, she could not mistake the tin body standing in front of her. She slowly breathed a sigh of relief, lowering her wand slightly.

"Hi Glinda," Boq murmured, and the blonde could see him smiling awkwardly. "Elphaba, is that you?" Boq asked, obviously noticing her green skin.

But Elphaba did not answer. Elphaba stood in stunned silence, mouth hanging open. Glinda almost wanted to laugh at her friend, but then noticed she wasn't even staring at Boq. Following her gaze, Glinda looked at the figure next to Boq. Although it was still too dark to see much, she could see the figure was short, even shorter than Boq. Then, after taking a second glance, she noticed the figure wasn't even standing, they were sitting comfortably in a gilded wheelchair.

"Nessa?!" Glinda exclaimed incredulously. "No, it can't be…Nessa?" Glinda found the words Elphaba could not, as both women stared as Nessa, sitting quietly in her chair.

As the three women could only stare at each other, Boq cleared his throat. "I stuck around after you left Glinda," he started to explain, "staying out of sight. But when the cyclone hit, I was paying extra attention, because it never storms around here! I saw Nessa walking through the town square, going back towards the mansion, when I saw the house falling. I was able to jump out in time and push her out of the way, and no one else saw what happened. We were worried that it was an assassination attempt, so we left the shoes and ran for it. We've been hiding in here ever since."

Elphaba still looked in shock, not processing what Boq had just said. But Glinda, having held onto Boq's every word, rushed forward to Nessa, finding herself smiling and crying at the same time.

"Oh Nessa, I'm so glad you're alright! We found the shoes and we thought you were…oh Nessa, thank Oz you're alive!"

Although Nessa remained wordless, she returned the hug, gripping Glinda tightly as they embraced. Eventually releasing each other, Glinda found herself finally able to see Nessa's face. She looked tired and worn out, but she was smiling from ear to ear, tears streaming down her face. Glinda imagined she must be mirroring the same facial expression, for she could also feel herself crying happily. Glinda looked up to survey the group, and noticed again that Nessa and Elphaba were staring at each other silently.

"Boq, let's give them a moment," Glinda suggested, to which Boq nodded in response. And with that, Boq and Glinda moved to the other end of the foyer, out of earshot from Elphaba and Nessa.

Glinda looked on as the sisters began to talk, but quickly turned her attention to Boq. "You saved her life," Glinda smiled, looking at Boq with sincere admiration. Boq blushed a bit despite his tin complexion, staring at the ground as he kicked his feet bashfully. Glinda smiled and continued, "After everything that happened between you two, you still risked your life to save her."

"Well I couldn't let her die like that," Boq said quickly, still staring at the ground. But after a moment, he looked up at Glinda, making eye contact, and cleared his throat. "But I listened to what you said," he finally admitted, becoming very serious. "I thought long and hard about what you told me, and I realized you're right, she is a good person, and there are certain things about her that I love, no matter how hard I've tried not to."

Glinda and Boq exchanged smiles, and Glinda patted Boq on the back lightly, hearing it echo through his hollow tin body. Glinda looked over to see Elphaba and Nessa embracing, crying in each other's arms. The beautiful sight brought tears to Glinda's eyes too, feeling like everything was finally as it should be.

However, the moment was fleeting as a loud banging noise came from the front door.

"Witches!" an angry male voice called out, "In the name of the Wizard, we order you to surrender now, or face the consequences." Realizing the house was surrounded by guards, Elphaba, Glinda, Nessa, and Boq all stared at each other in shock, trying to think of a plan.


	14. Chapter 14

Even across the foyer, Glinda could hear Elphaba swearing.

"Shhh!" Glinda waved her arms to keep Elphaba silent, and the green girl quickly obliged. Quietly, Glinda and Boq moved over to Elphaba and Nessa, so they could communicate without the guards overhearing

"They've got the place surrounded!" Boq whispered urgently, "we're stuck!"

"They have the ground surrounded," Elphaba corrected, and Glinda nodded in understanding, "they can't get us in the air."

"Nessa, where's the picture of Melena and the Wizard?" Glinda quickly changed the subject.

"Glinda, I don't think that's the priority right now…" Nessa said with confusion.

"Nessa, the Wizard's dead, we need that picture," Glinda said urgently, hearing the noises from outside the door growing.

"What?!" Nessa asked incredulously.

"The Wizard's dead?!" Boq echoed.

"Now is NOT the time!" Elphaba nearly yelled, but quickly hushed so the guards wouldn't hear. "Nessa, this is critically important, where is that picture?"

"It's, I think it's on the dresser in my room," Nessa stammered.

Without hesitation or pause, Glinda started giving out instructions, "Elphaba, run upstairs and get that photo!" Elphaba nodded and headed for the winding marble staircase. "Boq!," Glinda continued, "help me get Nessa upstairs!" If Glinda had taken time to stop, she would have been incredibly proud of her sudden confidence. No longer needing to hide in Fiyero's or Elphaba's shadows, Glinda had become a strong person, and this exhibition of courage and quick-thinking was a prime example. But now was not the time to think of personal growth, for now was the time to run.

Nessa put her left arm around Boq's neck and her right arm around Glinda's, and the pair lifted Nessa up, carrying her up the marble stairs. Glinda struggled to keep her balance as she carried half of Nessa's weight and held onto her wand as she climbed the marble steps. As the trio moved upstairs to meet Elphaba, Glinda could hear the head guard calling out from behind her.

"Surrender yourselves now, or we shall enter in ten seconds, and we will fire at will!" the guard yelled menacingly. Glinda and Boq exchanged nervous glances, both realizing that the guard was not playing around. Speeding up, the trio reached the top of the stairs just as Elphaba burst into the hallway, picture in hand.

"I got it!" Elphaba yelled triumphantly, but quickly stuffed the picture in her pocket as she saw Boq and Glinda running towards her, still carrying Nessa.

"Get to the attic!" Glinda yelled, and Elphaba didn't need to be told twice. As they made a run for the narrow stairway leading to the attic, Glinda could hear the front door being broken down, as angry guards must have started piling into the foyer. "Hurry!" Glinda encouraged with urgency. Boq and Glinda turned the corner leading to the attic stairway as Elphaba flung the door open, causing it to creak loudly.

Despite Glinda's every effort to carry Nessa, she found herself quickly losing energy, and Elphaba seemed quick to notice. "Here!" Elphaba yelled, offering herself up to switch with Glinda. The women did so quickly, and Elphaba and Boq led as they carried Nessa up the stairs, with Glinda following right behind. However, the group was only halfway up the stairs when the trio stopped.

"Guys, we need to move!" Glinda yelled, but immediately looked down when she heard Elphaba cry out in pain. It was only at that moment Glinda remembered how unstable these stairs had been, how she had felt the wood depress under her weight. Glinda realized the weight of three people must have been too much for a single stair, and it had given out. While Boq had successfully moved up to the next stair in time, Elphaba's foot had fallen through the broken step. Glinda noticed blood seeping from the new wound in Elphaba's leg, and went to help.

However, try as she might, Glinda could not get Elphaba's foot out of the hole. "It's stuck!" Glinda cried with frustration, trying to pull hard on Elphaba's leg. However, Glinda stopped when she heard her friend crying out in intense pain. Glinda began to panic, but knew she had to think quickly. "Boq!" she yelled, "help Elphaba, I'll go stall the guards!"

Boq nodded as he and Elphaba set Nessa on an upper stair so that they could focus on freeing Elphaba's leg from the broken stair. Glinda turned from her friends, moving back down the stairs. After moving through the doorway back to the bottom of the stairs, she turned to the main hallway, seeing five guards running in her direction. They stopped at the sight of her, pointing her guns in their direction. Although Glinda was terrified, she tried to look as regal and confident as possible, standing up tall, holding her wand delicately. She recognized many of the guards, as she had spoken with many of them over the years at the Wizard's palace, so she tried to address them as Glinda the Good, not a fugitive.

"Gentlemen, it's good to see you again. Now I'm not sure what this commotion is all about, but there is no problem here!" Glinda was extremely frightened, but tried to keep our cool.

"You are under arrest for the murder of his Wizardship!" the head guard yelled. "You and your traitorous friend, the Witch," he said the last word with extreme disgust, "must surrender now, or face the consequences."

"Gentlemen," Glinda remained calm, taking a step towards the guards, "This is all just a misunderstanding, I-"

Glinda stopped as a loud boom echoed through the hallway. Feeling a stinging sensation near her left shoulder, Glinda looked down to see red starting to spread across her dress. She suddenly found herself feeling very weak. It was suddenly becoming hard to breathe, and she felt her legs giving out.

"Glinda, let's go!" she heard a voice call, but it seemed so far off in the distance. The voice seemed a world away, but she suddenly felt pulled back to the present as she felt a pair of cold hands grab her. She could feel Boq half-carrying her as he shielded her with his own body. Glinda could hear more gunshots go off, but Boq seemed unaffected by the attack. Glinda felt herself regain a small amount of energy as she was pulled up the attic step, and looked up to see Elphaba and Nessa waiting at the window. Elphaba looked to be in a lot of pain, still bleeding profusely from her leg. Nevertheless, she seemed determined as she sat propped on her broom, Nessa sitting behind her as she gripped onto Elphaba.

"Glinda!" Nessa yelled, seeing her injured friend.

However, Elphaba knew there was no time to spare. "Glinda, you need to make a bubble."

Glinda looked at her best friend, hardly able to process what she was saying.

"Glinda!" Elphaba repeated with urgency, "You have to listen to me, you have to make a bubble NOW!" Elphaba was on the verge of tears, knowing she couldn't carry all four people on her broom. Knowing she'd have to leave Glinda and Boq behind, Elphaba did everything she could to get through to her friend.

Although Glinda felt almost ready to faint, she also understood the dire situation. Lifting up her right arm, she moved her wand faintly, but luckily enough to create a bubble. Glinda felt Boq carry her inside the bubble, moving towards the large set of double windows. Glinda used all the energy left in her body and concentrated on moving the bubble. Seeing Elphaba and Nessa flying alongside her, she could feel Boq covering her wound to slow the bleeding. With that, the pair of injured women worked to transport Boq and Nessa back to a waiting Fiyero.

"Glinda, hang on, stay with me!" Boq pleaded as he held his hand over Glinda's wound, trying to keep her steady as she controlled the bubble. Try as she might to concentrate on moving the bubble, she felt her consciousness fading in and out, causing the bubble to shake violently, causing a severe amount of turbulence. Glinda looked over to Elphaba and Nessa, who were watching with extreme concern. Even while beginning to black out, and even while concentrating on the bubble, Glinda could still see Elphaba's mind working a mile a minute.

"Elphaba," Nessa yelled through the air with obvious concern in her voice, "Glinda is looking really pale."

"I see that!" Elphaba snapped, trying to think of what to do, "I need to get her to the Grimmerie…"

"Are we close?" Nessa asked urgently.

"No," Elphaba sighed, trying to push forward while keeping Glinda nearby. Elphaba looked behind, realizing that Munchkinland was well out of sight, then made a quick decision. "We're landing."

"What?" Nessa asked incredulously, "you need to get to the Grimmerie, won't that slow us down?"

"I don't think Glinda can control the bubble long enough to get back, she's losing a lot of blood," Elphaba sighed, glancing over at her friend. Regaining her composure, Elphaba spoke clearly as she said, "Glinda, I need you to land in the clearing up ahead. Glinda, sweetie, do you understand me?"

Although her eyes were only half-open and Elphaba's voice sounded miles away, Glinda nodded slowly, descending towards the clearing up ahead. Touching down on the ground, the bubble popped immediately, and Glinda felt her legs give out, collapsing on the ground. Even though her vision was blurred, Glinda could feel Boq leaning over her, continuing to cover her wound as Elphaba and Nessa landed nearby.

"Nessa, you and Boq stay hidden, and I will come right back for you," Elphaba paused, sounding nervous. "I'm so sorry to have to leave you here, I'm so sorry Nessa…"

"Elphaba, we understand, just get Glinda to safety!" Nessa encouraged. And with that Elphaba ran with her broom over towards Boq and Glinda. Boq helped prop the blonde up on the front of the broom, with Elphaba sitting immediately behind her, putting her arms around Glinda to hold her steady. Glinda could feel the wind in her face as she and Elphaba took off, and could see Nessa and Boq disappearing into the distance.

"Now just hang on Glinda, everything's going to be okay!" Elphaba tried to say confidently, but her fear was very clear in the tone of her voice. "Are you in a lot of pain?"

But Glinda did not respond. She no longer felt in control of her body and felt herself slumping over the broom, hundreds of feet in the air. As Elphaba helped fly her back to Fiyero and the Grimmerie, Glinda felt herself falling into a deep sleep. Her eyes slowly fluttered shut, and she remembered nothing else.

"Glinda? Hun, can you hear me?"

Glinda felt her eyes flutter open and immediately tried to sit up. However, she cried out in pain as she tried to lean on her left arm, and felt someone pushing her to lie down slowly.

"Glinda, you've got to go slow, take your time," she could hear a voice encourage.

"What, what happened?" Glinda murmured, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Sweetie, you were shot," she heard the voice say, and was finally able to identify the voice as Fiyero's. "Glinda, do you remember being at Munchkinland?"

"Yes," Glinda said slowly, as her memory came back to her. "We were in the house, and the guards were there, and they shot at us."

Glinda looked down to where her wound was, and saw a large bandage covering the area, only a small amount of blood had seeped onto the white gauze.

Glinda tried to sit up slowly, and Fiyero put his hand on her back helping her to slowly move into a sitting position. She leaned against a nearby tree, holding her head as it throbbed from the pain of the injury.

"Do you remember anything after that?" Fiyero asked a little urgently.

"We escaped, and we were flying, but then things started to get fuzzy. I remember being in the bubble with Boq, and Nessa and Elphaba were on the broom. But then suddenly I was on Elphaba's broom, and…that's all I remember," Glinda held her head, trying to think of anything else, but it was all she could recall.

"Wait, you said Nessa and Boq were with you?!" Fiyero asked, truly stunned.

"Yes, they were with us, but they're in, they're in the woods," Glinda mumbled, everything still fuzzy. "Elphaba didn't tell you that Nessa and Boq were with us?"

"No," Fiyero mumbled rather quietly.

"I can't believe she didn't mention it," Glinda mumbled quietly, then suddenly a sickening thought hit her. "Where's Elphaba?"

Fiyero didn't immediately answer, sending Glinda into a panic. She remembered the injury on Elphaba's leg, but didn't recall it being that serious. However, Fiyero refused to look Glinda in the eye, and was being extremely slow to respond.

"FIYERO, WHERE IS ELPHABA?"


	15. Chapter 15

"Glinda, you're weak, you need to rest," Fiyero tried to calm the blonde down, but she wasn't having it.

"Fiyero, you'll tell me where Elphaba is right now or you and I are going to have a problem!" Glinda was getting angry and panicked now, trying to stand up despite her weakness and injury.

"Glinda, stop!" Fiyero said sternly, grabbing Glinda as her legs nearly gave out from under her. "Listen to me…Elphaba's here, but she's…" Fiyero trailed off, struggling to finish his sentence.

"She's not…no, she can't be…oh no," Glinda began to dissolve into tears, falling into Fiyero's arms as she began to cry.

Although Fiyero pulled her in for a hug, he was quick to respond to Glinda, "No, no Glinda, she's not dead."

Glinda looked up quickly, her eyes a mix of pleading and disbelief, "She's alright?! She's okay?!"

"I didn't say that, I said she's alive," Fiyero started, and Glinda looked on with confusion. "Glinda," he started again, "your gunshot wound was very serious, and it took a long time for her to get you here, you lost a lot of blood…"

"I know that Fiyero, but I'm fine, I promise! Now I want to know what happened to Elphaba!"

"Glinda, you're not listening!" Fiyero said with some frustration, finally continuing, "You were on the verge of death when you got here. You were completely unconscious, and white as a ghost. Elphaba was able to find a spell to get the bullet out and stitch you up, but the Grimmerie didn't have anything to replenish your blood supply."

"Okay…"Glinda said slowly, still not understanding where Fiyero was going with this.

"Elphaba was able to check from your wounds, and found that you two have the same blood type…"

Fiyero was only mid-sentence, but it suddenly dawned on her what happened. Fiyero nodded as he saw the look of understanding and worry in her face. "She felt fine at first with the blood transfusion, but when you started getting color back in your cheeks, she started feeling very weak. She went to sit down while I bandaged your wound, and when I turned around, she was unconscious."

Glinda finally took the time to look through the darkness of the night, searching for her good friend. Seeing a figure a makeshift bed on the nearby ground, Glinda rushed over to her friend.

"Elphaba…" Glinda whispered, tears streaking down her face as she looked at her friend. Grabbing Elphaba's hand in here own, she realized how cold and clammy her hand was. Elphaba's eyes remained closed as she was unconscious, and almost all color was drained from her face. Glinda couldn't tell if it was the small amount of light offered by the moon, or if it was the lack of blood in Elphaba's system, but she didn't look green at all. For the first time, Elphaba looked a perfectly normal color.

But Glinda knew better. She could tell that now her friend was on the verge of death, and knew she was absolutely responsible.

"Do you think that I could transfer some of the blood back?" Glinda asked quietly, considering taking off her bandage to re-open the wound.

"Glinda, you can hardly even stand up, I don't think you can afford to lose any more blood either, there's just not enough," he sighed. "And unfortunately I have a totally different blood type, otherwise, I'd give her more than enough…"

"I know you would," Glinda tried to console her friend. The pair remained quiet for some time, watching over Elphaba, wishing she would wake up, or at least move. However, Elphaba remained completely motionless, seemingly growing colder and paler by the minute. Suddenly, a thought occurred to Glinda, "Her sister…"

"What?" Fiyero asked, not hearing Glinda's mumbling.

"Nessa!" Glinda said loudly now, "she and Nessa are related, so they probably have the same blood type! She wouldn't have to give all her blood, just enough…"

"Glinda, I don't know where Nessa is, and neither do you! You were blacking out when Elphaba dropped them off in the forest!" Fiyero pointed out.

"I have to try Fiyero!" Glinda said, nearly falling from weakness as she went to go pick up her wand.

"Glinda, you can barely even stand, I can't in my right mind let you go out there in the middle of night in this state! Not to mention you're now officially running from the guards!"

"Fiyero!" Glinda yelled, bringing him to silence. "She will die if I don't do this!" Fiyero knew that Glinda's statement was true, and he nodded in understanding. "Now," Glinda continued, "you watch her, keep her warm and keep her safe! I will do everything I can to find Nessa and Boq and bring them back here!" And with that, Glinda conjured her bubble and took off in the direction of Munchkinland.

Under perfect circumstances, it probably would have been relatively easy to find Nessa and Boq. Unfortunately, the conditions Glinda was facing were anything but perfect. First, the moon was blocked by a set of ominous looking clouds, making it hard for Glinda to even tell if she was moving in the right direction, let alone to spot Nessa and Boq. Glinda wanted to blame this unfortunate weather on Madame Morrible, but she realized it was probably just an unlucky break. Besides, Glinda thought angrily, I'd probably be with another broken bubble if Morrible was really controlling the weather right now.

Even with the cloud cover, Glinda initially planned on finding Nessa and Boq by calling out for them as she flew back towards Munchkinland. However, with Madame Morrible and the Wizard's guards searching for her, she realized how dangerous it would be to yell out as she flew in her easily recognizable form of transportation.

However, without visibility or the ability to call out to her friends, Glinda had no idea how she would find her friends, having hardly been conscious the last time she saw them. Even now, after receiving help from Elphaba, Glinda found herself struggling to stay awake. Her body was weak and tired, and Glinda know she should be resting right now. She struggled to keep her bubble steady, the bubble's bottom often grazing against the tops of the trees. However, although the turbulence made Glinda feel sick, it also served as a way to keep her awake. Continually, her body wanted to go to sleep, to rest and recover from injuries. And often, involuntarily, Glinda found herself drifting into unconsciousness. Fortunately, large bumps in the trip helped keep Glinda alert as she searched.

After over an hour of travel, Glinda sighed as she continued to unsuccessfully search. Looking straight ahead, she gasped slightly as she saw a large silhouette in the distance. As Glinda squinted her eyes through the darkness, she realized she was only a few hundred feet from the Governor's Mansion.

"Sht," Glinda cursed out loud, "I've gone too far." She began to panic, imagining Elphaba only inches from death, her hands like ice. "I know we were a ways away from Munchkinland when we landed." And with that, Glinda pivoted quickly, moving back away from Munchkinland.

After another ten minutes of searching, Glinda started to become very panicked and frustrated. "I can't give up," she tried to remain confident as she searched, but her physical and emotional exhaustion took their toll on Glinda as she dissolved into tears. "Let's face it, I won't be able to find Boq and Nessa until morning, maybe longer, and by then I'll be too late…oh Elphaba, I'm so sorry!"

Glinda went to bury her face in her hands as she started sobbing, but something caught her eye just before she closed her eyes. The moon had momentarily emerged from behind the clouds, and a shimmer of silver could be seen from the ground. The moment Glinda saw the silver shine, she knew what it was. Never for a moment did she consider it a trap, or just a random object on the ground. She knew that she had found Boq and Nessa.


	16. Chapter 16

Nearly crashing into the ground from descending so quickly, Glinda popped the bubble and started running towards where she had seen the glimmer of light.

"Boq? Nessa?" Glinda whispered loudly, trying to peer through the darkness for her friends.

"Elphaba, is that you?" she could hear Nessa's voice from nearby.

"No, it's Glinda," the blonde responded as she followed Nessa's voice until she found the pair. Glinda gasped as she finally saw the pair, "Nessa, what happened?"

Nessa was sprawled on the ground, looking scared but unharmed, unable to move from the waist down. Boq was spread out on the ground next to Nessa, breathing shallow breaths as he held his chest.

Nessa was half in tears when she responded, "He was shot a few times when he pulled you out of the hallway," Nessa said, pointing at the holes in Boq's chest. "Since he doesn't have a heart or blood, I thought he'd be alright. But I think the holes…I don't know, he's having a lot of trouble breathing!"

"Glin…da…" Boq wheezed, struggling to get his breath.

"Oh sweet Oz," Glinda panicked, realizing how bad the situation was for everyone. Glinda had only ever taken two people in her bubble at once, and wasn't confident she could carry three. Glinda had planned on taking Nessa alone so she could get her back to Elphaba as soon as possible, then come back for Boq. However, Boq looked on the verge of death himself, and she knew she couldn't leave him alone. So if I leave Nessa, Elphaba dies…but if I take Nessa, then Boq dies…sweet Oz, what do I do?

"Come on, you're both coming with me," Glinda said without anymore thought to the matter.

"Glinda, are you sure you're okay?" Nessa asked, noticing how tired and pale Glinda looked. "And where's Elphaba?"

"That's why we need to go, NOW!" Glinda said, conjuring her bubble.

"Glinda, listen to me!" Nessa reasoned. "You look really weak, and we need to get Boq to safety now! Besides, can your bubble even carry three people? Why don't you take Boq with you now, then come back for me in the morning? I promise I won't walk off," she tried to lighten the mood a bit.

"No, I need you to come too, NOW!" Glinda continued as she moved towards Nessa and Boq.

"But why?" Nessa asked with concern and confusion.

"Because I need you to save Elphaba's life!" Glinda put simply, picking up Nessa, carrying her weight on her own.

"What? How? Wait…I don't understand…when…" Nessa struggled to form a full sentence as she put her arms around Glinda's neck for support.

However, Glinda completely ignored Nessa's stammered questions, and turned her attention to her other friend. "Boq," she said sternly, "you helped save my life today, and I'm going to do everything I can to save you, but you have to work with me here. Boq, I need you stand up and come into the bubble. I'll get us back to Elphaba and Fiyero as fast as I can, and I will try to hold you steady, but you need to get up!"

Glinda pronounced every word carefully but urgently, waiting for movement from Boq. However, he just laid motionless, breathing loud, short breaths.

"Boq," Glinda repeated, tears coming to her eyes again, "please Boq, you need to get up!"

"Boq," Nessa echoed, also in tears now. "Boq, I can't do this without you, I can't be without you. Please Boq, please get up!"

Glinda watched, tears streaming down her cheeks. She felt about to pass out just with Nessa's extra weight, she knew she couldn't carry both. Boq would have to stand up on his own free will, there was no alternative.

However, Boq turned his head slowly, looking over at the two crying women. Nessa reached her arm out to him, sobbing quietly. To Glinda's amazement, Boq reached his arm out too, reaching out for Nessa. Never taking her eyes off of her, Boq slowly shifted his weight, still struggling to breath. He pushed himself off the ground until he was in a standing position, moving over towards Glinda and Nessa.

"Yes Boq, you can do it," Glinda encouraged as Nessa continued to reach out to him. Finally, Boq made it to where Glinda and Nessa were, stepping inside the bubble. Glinda did not have a free hand to offer him as she was holding Nessa, but she let him put most of his weight against her for support. Nessa took Boq's hand in hers, offering both support and encouragement.

"Alright, I've got this," Glinda tried to stay confident as she focused all her energy on the bubble, doing her best to lift it off the ground. The bubble moved a few feet of the ground and seemed to stop at a hover.

"Oh Glinda, I think we're too heavy!" Nessa said with concern, looking towards the ground.

Glinda did not respond. She knew that any distractions, talking or otherwise, would detour her from her goal. Closing her eyes, Glinda put all her energy into pushing the bubble away from the ground, but couldn't feel any movement.

However, Nessa, quickly yelled out, "Glinda, it's working! Glinda, you're doing it!" Glinda slowly opened her eyes, realizing that they were now fifty feet above the ground, well clear of the tree line. Glinda breathed a sigh of relief, taking a moment to glance at Nessa and Boq. Nessa looked relieved and concerned all at the same time, clearly wondering about Elphaba's and Boq's states. Boq was smiling lightly, obviously trying to reassure Glinda and Nessa. However, Glinda wasn't fooled by his smile, his shallow breaths were getting quieter and less frequent. Knowing that there was no time to spare, Glinda pushed the bubble forward as best she could.

Unfortunately, carrying the weight of three people, it took Glinda nearly an hour to get the trio back to Fiyero. Luckily, Fiyero had been smart enough to light a small bonfire, making it easier for Glinda to find him again. Landing quickly, Glinda nearly collapsed from sheer exhaustion, but there was no time to spare.

As Fiyero ran up to meet the trio, Glinda was already yelling out instructions. "Fiyero, help Nessa and Elphaba!" Glinda explained, knowing that Fiyero had probably helped with the first transfusion and knew what to do. Fiyero nodded, taking Nessa in his arms and carrying her over to where Elphaba was still laying unconscious. Glinda, on the other hand, helped Boq lay down where she had previously been resting. Glinda ran over to find the Grimmerie, rushing through the pages while trying to find the right spell. Fortunately, the spell Elphaba had previously used to save Boq was bookmarked, and Glinda hoped the same one would work a second time. Glinda ran back to where Boq was laying down, noticing that his eyes were closed and she could no longer hear his breathing.

"Oh Boq, no!" Glinda murmured, knowing she only had moments to spare. Looking down at the book, Glinda tried to decipher the spell as best she could. Although the incantation sounded much more choppy and odd than when Elphaba used it, Glinda tried to be confident in her magical powers. Finally finishing the spell, she brought her gaze from the Grimmerie back to Boq, looking to see if the spell had worked.

Boq remained motionless as Glinda looked down at him, not making a sound. Glinda desperately wanted to check for a pulse, but knew there was no use in that. Instead, the blonde moved her face down towards his, trying to listen for any breathing. Again, Glinda heard nothing.

"No, Boq no!" Glinda cried, looking down at his body. Her spell looked like it had worked properly, as the holes in his chest had closed shut, the tin looking stronger and shinier than ever. However, Glinda couldn't help but think she had been too late, as Boq remained motionless. Getting panicked and frustrated, Glinda again moved her head towards Boq's, listening for any breathing. She strained her ears, listening carefully for any sound.

Suddenly, Glinda jumped back as Boq made a loud gasp for air. He took a few loud breaths, coughing and sputtering slightly for air. Finally, his breathing returned to normal as Boq laid on the makeshift bed, eyes still closed.

"Boq! Oh thank Oz you're alright! Boq, can you hear me?" Glinda was overwhelmed with emotion, so thankfully to hear Boq breathing normally.

Boq was still struggling to fully catch his breath, and he barely moved as he spoke, but Glinda could hear the one word he managed to emit very clearly. "Nessa?" he murmured between breaths, then slowly reached out for the woman he thought was sitting next to him.

Glinda was relieved Boq was alright, even though he was still slowly getting his breath back, hardly able to speak. However, the one word spoke volumes. Not only did it show that he was alright, but it also showed where his heart was. Glinda smiled at Boq and realized that, even despite his own efforts not to, he was in love with Nessa.

"Nessa," Glinda murmured, suddenly remembering what was happening only feet away. After checking Boq one last time to make sure he was breathing and stable, Glinda ran over to where Fiyero was kneeling over Elphaba and Nessa. He looked up as Glinda approached, looking tired and worried.

"How are they?" Glinda asked quickly, glancing at the two women.

"Nessa will be alright, but she obviously lost quite a bit of blood. She needs rest, and she needs to eat something," Fiyero replied, gripping Nessa's hand and squeezing it lightly for support, "but she'll be just fine."

Nessa was barely awake, smiling weakly as she looked up at Glinda. Glinda noticed how pale Nessa was, but was relieved to see her awake and alert.

"Thank you, for what you did," Glinda smiled at Nessa, knowing words could never express Glinda's gratitude. Fiyero nodded in agreement as he kneeled next to Glinda, but the blonde could still see the worry in his eyes. Glinda knew that she and Fiyero needed to talk, but didn't want to worry Nessa while in her weak state. Glinda stood up slowly, remembering how weak she was herself. But that didn't matter, she had to make sure Elphaba was alright. Glinda moved towards the fire and picked up the pair of red shoes that sat on the ground. She moved back towards Nessa, smiling as she said, "I think these belong to you." Glinda helped slide the shoes onto Nessa's feet and she smiled back, regaining control over the lower-half of her body. Slowly, Glinda and Fiyero helped Nessa to stand up, and moved her over to where Boq was laying down.

"Boq?" Nessa called his name with worry as she moved over towards him. "Boq, are you alright?"

"Nessa?" Boq said quietly, finally opening his eyes.

"Oh Boq, thank Oz you're alright!" Nessa breathed a sigh of relief, sitting next to him, pulling him in for a hug.

"Both of you need to rest," Glinda instructed Nessa and Boq, and Nessa nodded in understanding.

"Here, you both should have something to eat too," Fiyero said, offering them each some bread and fruit before leaving the pair to rest. Then, Fiyero and Glinda moved back to where Elphaba was still laying silently.

"How is she?" Glinda cut right to chase, needing to know if her friend was okay.

"I'm not sure," Fiyero murmured. "Thankfully they were the same blood type, and I was able to transfer some of the blood without a problem. But I didn't want to take too much from Nessa, I didn't want to put her in danger too."

Glinda nodded in understanding, glancing back at Boq and Nessa. The pair already looked to be asleep, Boq's tin arms wrapped around Nessa as they slept. Glinda then turned her attention back to Elphaba. Her friend didn't look as pale as before, but still did not look like her emerald self. Glinda could hear Elphaba breathing quietly, but still saw no movement or sign of alertness.

"She's still alive, which is a good sign," Fiyero sighed, stroking Elphaba's hair lightly as he spoke, "but I think it's too soon to tell if she'll pull through."

"If she gave her life to save mine…if I didn't bring Nessa back in time…I'll never be able to forgive myself," Glinda began sobbing suddenly, and Fiyero pulled Glinda in for a hug.

"Glinda, you did everything you could. I'm not sure how you could even stand up and walk around after everything you went through, let alone transport three people back here." Fiyero released Glinda from the hug, and looked down at her, suddenly looking worried, "Actually Glinda, are you alright? You're looking extremely pale again, and you're shaking!"

Glinda didn't know how to respond, she didn't feel anything anymore. The physical and emotional exhaustion made her numb, and she was no longer aware of what strain her own body was under. She didn't say anything in response to Fiyero's question, she just stared at Elphaba sadly, wondering what would become of her friend.

Fiyero slowly nudged Glinda to lay down in the spot next to Elphaba, saying, "All four of you are in pretty rough shape. You all need rest or you'll get worse. I'll stay up and watch over everyone." Glinda was about to argue against the idea, wanting to stay up, but Fiyero was one step ahead of her, "I'll wake you the moment her status changes! But right now, there's nothing we can do but wait."

With that, Glinda felt her body give out. Knowing she had done everything possible for her friends, she let exhaustion overtake her. Still extremely weak, she was asleep within seconds of laying down, making sure to take Elphaba's hand in her own before drifting off.


	17. Chapter 17

Glinda felt like she had only been asleep her a few minutes when her eyes slowly fluttered open, but she was surprised to be overwhelmed by the brightness that could only come from a midday sun. In confusion, Glinda went to sit up, but found her body being uncooperative. However, voices nearby grew hushed as Glinda tried to stir, and she could suddenly see a group of faces hovering above her.

"Glinda, can you hear us?" a male voice said, and the blonde could sense a hand feeling her forehead, then stroking her hair.

Glinda tried to speak, but her words came out more as a whisper, "What happened?" she was able to murmur, trying to discern who was looking over her.

"GLINDA!" she heard a male voice respond loudly, "YOU HAVE BEEN SLEEPING!"

"Boq, you don't have to scream, she still knows English!" a female voice scolded, obviously belonging to Nessa.

"I just wanted to make sure she could hear us!" Boq said a little defensively, but Glinda could see the pair holding hands, leaning against each other.

"Glinda, how are you feeling?" a third voice asked, which Glinda immediately recognized as being Fiyero. Glinda struggled to respond, looking back and forth between the trio, and Fiyero picked up on this, "Aren't you two still supposed to be resting?"

"We have been resting!" Boq responded defensively again.

"You two have been doing nothing but making out and cuddling!" Fiyero said a little angrily, and Nessa got the message.

"Boq, let's give Glinda some space," she said quietly, leading Boq away from where Fiyero still kneeled next to Glinda.

"Glinda," Fiyero finally continued quietly, as if sharing some important secret, "you've been asleep for almost three days." Glinda struggled to respond, but Fiyero could easily interpret the surprise in her eyes. "You overstrained yourself the other day, trying to help transport Nessa and Boq. You're body just gave out on you, and you had a terrible fever, you wouldn't stop shaking," Fiyero said quietly, and Glinda could tell how much the ordeal had frightened him. "Thank Oz your fever seemed to break a few hours ago, you seem to be doing much better."

Glinda nodded slowly. Even though she felt incredibly tired and weak, she felt better than she had when she had passed out next to Elphaba. Elphaba, the thought quickly reentered her head, and she put all her energy into emitting the all-important word. "Elphaba…"

Fiyero sighed, obviously knowing it was only a matter of time before Glinda asked about her friend. "She hasn't changed. She's still breathing, but she hasn't woken up. I don't think she can hear anything I'm saying, she's not responding at all."

Glinda turned her head slowly so that she could look at her friend. Glinda only now realized that Elphaba's hand was still held in her own, which fortunately felt warm, unlike the clammy feeling from three days before. Elphaba remained unmoving and asleep, looking almost peaceful to Glinda. The blonde thought that some color had returned to Elphaba's skin, but couldn't tell if the amount of sunlight was just playing tricks on her eyes.

Glinda couldn't bear to see her friend like this, sick and unable to wake up. However, Glinda also knew she wasn't in much better shape, feeling herself falling back asleep. However, she used the last bit of energy she had to look at her friend, and whisper, "Elphaba." Within only a moment of emitting the last syllable, Glinda could feel pressure on her hand. Glancing down, she could even see Elphaba's grip on her own hand tightening, filling Glinda with excitement. She tried to indicate this development to Fiyero, but could no longer find her voice. She found herself falling back asleep despite her best efforts, feeling Elphaba's grip on her hand as she drifted back into unconsciousness.

Glinda awoke once more, this time feeling like she had been asleep for an eternity. At first she thought she was struggling to wake up and open her eyes, but then realized that it was actually nighttime. Her eyes struggled to adjust, the moon not visible behind all the trees. However, Glinda could view some stars twinkling dimly in the sky. Glinda slowly turned her head to her left to look at her friend, but found that Elphaba wasn't there. Oh no, Glinda began to panic, knowing what the absence of her friend could mean. A tear streaked down Glinda's cheek, unable to deny the potential reality of the situation.

Glinda turned over in her makeshift bed, unable to continue staring at the vacant spot where her best friend had laid in a coma. It was only when he had completely shifted away from Elphaba's old spot when she saw a figure kneeling next to her bed. The figure's face was buried in their own arms, obviously having fallen asleep as they watched over Glinda. Although Glinda couldn't see the figure's face, the woman's long, black hair and emerald hands made her a clear giveaway.

Glinda rubbed eyes, almost not believing what she was seeing. When Elphaba did not disappear as a hallucination, Glinda completely broke down into tears. But this time, Glinda was crying from happiness.

Glinda's loud sobbing caused Elphaba to stir, and she looked up at the blonde. "Glinda?" she asked sleepily but with pure excitement and concern.

"Elphaba?" Glinda replied, still hardly believe what was in front of her. The last time she had seen her best friend, Elphaba had been unconscious, hardly breathing, looking pale and weak as ever. However, she realized that Elphaba must have been thinking the same thing about her. The two stared at each other for a long time, as if they were refusing to believe that both were awake and healthy. Glinda slowly sat up, her eyes never leaving Elphaba's, as if she would find Elphaba back in a coma if she removed her gaze for even an instant. Both women were crying with happiness now, sitting next to each other. Finally Elphaba moved forward, pulling Glinda in for a strong hug. Glinda returned the hug with equal strength and happiness.

"Oh thank Oz you're alright," Glinda murmured in between sobs as the two embraced.

"Me?" Elphaba said with a bit of surprise, "you're the one that's had us the most worried!"

"Really?" Glinda wiped the tears from her cheeks as the two finally released each other, looking each other in the eyes once more.

"Yes!" Elphaba said as she exhaled, obviously relieved to see that Glinda was indeed alright. "I guess I woke up about an hour after you fell asleep, but that was nearly four days ago!"

"Four days?!" Glinda asked incredulously, hardly believing it had been so long since she was awake.

"I guess you had a bad fever earlier…well it came back. We think your wound got infected before we could heal it," Elphaba said, lightly placing her hand over where Glinda's gunshot wound had been. Elphaba stared at that spot for a long time, then finally spoke again as she sobbed lightly. "You know you saved our lives back there. If you hadn't been brave enough to stop those guards, then all four of us…" Elphaba stopped short, not wanting to think of what could have happened to the four of them.

"And you saved my life," Glinda smiled weakly at her friend. "And don't pretend you didn't know what you were doing, I know better. You knowingly risked your life to save mine…"

"And you turned right back around and saved mine again. You and Nessa," Elphaba smiled, gripping Glinda's hand tightly. Glinda returned the grip, never wanting to let go of her best friend again.

So, as Fiyero, Boq, and Nessa slept, two best friends embraced once more, reunited after a long rest.

After getting over the shock that Elphaba was alright, Glinda finally stopped crying and released her friend, looking around the rest of their makeshift camp. Although it was hard to see in the middle of the night, Glinda could still see with the aid of the campfire that was slowly burning out. Across the way, on the other makeshift bed were Nessa and Boq, sound asleep in each other's arms. Next to the fire, Fiyero was curled up by himself, sleeping heavily.

Elphaba followed Glinda's gaze and cleared her throat. "I don't know if you remember from the first time you were awake, but Nessa and Boq are just fine. Apparently you saved Boq's life, and he seems good as new now. And Nessa recovered quickly from the transfusion, she's just happy to have her shoes back," Elphaba explained while smiling.

"And Fiyero?" Glinda asked, realizing how exhausted he looked as he slept near the fire.

"He'll be just fine," Elphaba smiled lovingly at Fiyero as she spoke. "The first day or two he didn't sleep, watching over the two of us while also helping Boq and Nessa recuperate. Then when I woke up, he refused to go to sleep, wanting to stay by my side and make sure I was doing alright. And then your fever came back pretty badly and he wouldn't leave your side…" Elphaba trailed off, staring at Fiyero as he slept.

Glinda suddenly felt very indebted to Fiyero. She had spent so much time worrying about Elphaba's, Nessa's, and Boq's safety that she had not stopped to realize everything Fiyero had done for the group the last week. Tending to all four injured, not stopping to eat or sleep so that he could always be there to help. Poor Fiyero, he saved us all really, Glinda sighed, realized what a hero he was all of them.

"Anyway," Elphaba said, finally turning back to Glinda, "I finally told him he had to get some sleep, I was so worried he would get sick himself if he didn't. I promised I was well enough to look after you for an hour or two while he slept…of course he's been asleep for about 12 hours now, but I don't plan on telling him that unless he asks," Elphaba giggled a bit, causing Glinda to smile too.

"So," Glinda took it all in, "so everyone's okay?"

"More or less," Elphaba replied. "You and Fiyero still need to get some sleep before we go running off on another suicide mission," she joked, and Glinda was glad to see Elphaba had still maintained her dry humor.

"And Boq and Nessa?" Glinda questioned.

"Oh Nessa is the best I've ever seen her, she's never been happier," Elphaba smiled. "She's up and walking again, and she has Boq."

"And Boq's alright too?" Glinda asked again, unable to completely relax until she knew all her friends were safe.

"He's fine," Elphaba said, although Glinda could sense an undertone of uncertainty.

"What is it?" Glinda asked, looking Elphaba in the eye.

Elphaba remained quiet for a while, obviously debating with herself internally. Finally, she looked up at Glinda, looking very serious. "I've been looking at the Grimmerie a lot the last day or two…" she paused, obviously still questioning whether or not to share any information. However, Glinda nodded encouragingly, and Elphaba continued, "I…I may have found a spell to cure Boq."

"You mean, to make him human again?" Glinda asked incredulously.

"Shhh!" Elphaba quieted Glinda, looking around to make sure the other three had not heard. "I think so, but I haven't told anyone else."

"Why not? Boq and Nessa will be thrilled!" Glinda smiled, glancing over at the pair. Although they seemed very much in love, it did look rather awkward seeing Nessa cuddle with a man made of tin.

"What if it doesn't work Glinda?" Elphaba sighed, displaying the lack of self-confidence that had plagued her throughout her entire life. "I mean, I don't completely understand most of these spells, what if it doesn't work? What if I kill him?"

"Elphaba, you probably have the greatest magical ability of anyone in Oz, you need to be more confident!" Glinda encouraged.

"Almost as good as Morrible…" Elphaba mumbled bitterly.

"Better than Morrible!" Glinda exclaimed, although she wasn't even sure if she believed her own words. Elphaba rolled her eyes, to which Glinda took Elphaba's hand and continued, "You can do this…we can do this!" she did the best to support her friend. "Let's take a look at this spell together. We'll figure it out Elphaba, I promise!"


	18. Chapter 18

Elphaba and Glinda spent the rest of the night pouring over the Grimmerie, translating the spell as best they could. Although Glinda could translate even less of the spell than Elphaba, it sounded like it could work to the blonde as well. They spent a while quietly practicing the spell on random objects to see the effects, and had mixed results. First, Glinda said the entire spell out loud, unknowingly performing the spell on her pillow. The two women jumped in surprise as the pillow exploded, feathers going everywhere.

"Ugh, we can't do this, there's no way!" Elphaba murmured with exasperation, watching the feathers slowly fall back to the ground.

Glinda glanced over to see if the other three had woken up. When she realized that they were still sound asleep, Glinda turned her attention back to her friend. "Elphie, relax! I wasn't even concentrating, or focusing on the pillow for that matter!" Glinda smiled reassuringly at Elphaba. "I'm not insinuating that we should go over to Boq right now and try it! But let's not give up yet." Elphaba sighed, looking tired and frustrated. However, Glinda's encouragement must have worked, for she started staring at the book again, concentrating on the spell.

Over the next few hours, the women tried the spell on many flowers and nearby plants, all of which seemed to work as planned. Although both Elphaba and Glinda were able to complete the spell, it quickly became apparently that Elphaba's powers outshone Glinda's, so Glinda stopped practicing and concentrated on helping her friend.

Finally, as dawn approached, Glinda convinced Elphaba that it was time to graduate from plants and move onto something harder. Glinda took a tin can she had found on the ground and placed it a few feet in front of Elphaba.

"A can?" Elphaba asked curiously.

"It's the same material Boq is made of! I thought it would be a smart thing to try!" Glinda said a little defensively, handing the Grimmerie to Elphaba.

Elphaba smiled, "Yeah, that makes sense…tin can," Elphaba sighed, obviously nervous to see how this would work. She looked over at Glinda as she tried to pass her the Grimmerie, but shook her head, "No thanks, I've got the spell memorized now, we've tried it so many times."

Glinda nodded supportively, holding the book as she stepped away from the can. She watched as Elphaba closed her eyes, focusing all her attention on the tin can. Elphaba took a deep breath, and started chanting under her breath. Glinda watched as Elphaba moved her hands, making fluid motions as she spoke the incantation from memory. The tin can began to shake as Elphaba's voice grew louder, and Glinda watched her friend intently, knowing she was almost done with the spell.

"Ow!" Glinda heard someone yell in pain, and quickly removed her gaze from Elphaba. It was clear the tin can had exploded as the spell ended, part of which had hit Fiyero square on the forehead, causing him to wake up in pain. Fiyero's yelp of pain also caused Nessa and Boq to wake up, leaving all five staring at each other awkwardly.

"Oh Fiyero!" Elphaba gasped, running over to him quickly and kneeling next to him. "Fiyero I'm so sorry, are you alright?!"

"Yeah," Fiyero sighed rubbing his head, "what was that?"

"Ummm," Elphaba struggled to think of a good answer, and Glinda noticed her nerves. Therefore, to take the pressure off Elphaba, Glinda strategically cleared her throat. Four pairs of eyes turned in her direction, and Glinda suddenly became very self-aware.

"Glinda?" Fiyero asked incredulously, as if the bump on his head was causing him to have a hallucination. Elphaba smiled at Glinda as the other three stood in awe, staring at the blonde. Finally, Nessa made the first move, running forward as she pulled Glinda in for a hug.

"Thank Oz you're alright!" Nessa cried as she embraced Glinda, which the blonde warmly returned.

"You are alright, aren't you?" Boq asked nervously as he stood next to where Glinda and Nessa had been hugging.

Glinda smiled as she released Nessa and pulled Boq in for a hug. "Of course I'm alright," she smiled, awkwardly hugging the tin man, thinking back to the spell Elphaba had just been attempting. Once Boq finally released her, Glinda looked over to where Elphaba and Fiyero had been sitting, but saw that Fiyero was now standing right next to her, Elphaba not far behind.

"You saved my life you know," Glinda smiled, trying to express the gratitude that could never be done justice through words. She nearly tackled him with such a strong hug, which he happily accepted as he laughed.

"I'm just glad you're alright," he said while still laughing. Glinda released him slightly, pulling Elphaba in to join their hug. Nessa and Boq moved in too, and before long, the five had grouped into one large hug.

The five shared a group hug for a long time, becoming surprisingly emotional. This time a week ago, Glinda realized how improbable it would have been for all five of them to be here now. She loved each one of them so much, all for different reasons, that she became overwhelmed with emotions as they all embraced. Glinda looked around and saw that Elphaba and Nessa had started crying lightly too, and that Boq and Fiyero looked extremely happy and relieved.

As she wiped her tears, Glinda decided to finally lighten the mood. "Well, this has got to be the cheesiest thing we've ever done…group hug!" she laughed, to which everyone else started laughing too.

The five finally relaxed, sitting down next to the fire the Fiyero was nice enough to light. Glinda smiled as Nessa and Boq held hands, and Elphaba was running her fingers through Fiyero's hair. Glinda thought she should feel uncomfortable and jealous, the only one not in a pair, but she was surprised to find she felt the most comfortable that she had her entire life. She was in the company of friends, those who loved her. The five were a family now.

"Fiyero!" Elphaba cried out, pulling Glinda from her thoughts, "your head is bleeding!" she exclaimed, pulling her hand from his hair.

"Oh, sorry," Fiyero apologized, helping Elphaba clean off her hand with a rag, then caught a concerned look from her. "I'm fine, I promise!" Fiyero smiled, "it doesn't even hurt!" he assured her. However, the discussion of his injury renewed his interest, "Say, what hit me anyway?"

"A tin can," Glinda couldn't help but stifle a laugh as she said it, but immediately regretted it. Looking around the room, she saw Elphaba glaring at her a little angrily, and Boq looking like he was about to argue, having thought she was making some rude comment about him.

"She doesn't mean you Boq," Elphaba said, having obviously caught his reaction as well. "You were hit in the head with a literal tin can…or what was left of it anyway…."

"And why was I hit in the head with the remnants of a tin can?" Fiyero asked with some amusement. He looked back and forth between Glinda and Elphaba, waiting for an answer. Finally, Elphaba cleared her throat, knowing it was time to fess up.

"I was trying a spell…" she started slowly.

"And…?" he urged, putting his is arm around her for support.

Elphaba looked up at Glinda, who nodded in support. Elphaba took a deep breath and finally let it all out, "I think I may have found a spell to fix Boq…not that you're broken Boq! I didn't mean it like that, but to make you human again…and Glinda and I were practicing all night on different items, and we thought it was going really well, but then we tried it on a tin can and it exploded…." Elphaba took another long breath, having spilled so much information so quickly.

Glinda looked across the fire, alternating her glance between Fiyero, Boq, and Nessa. Finally, Nessa looked at Boq as she cleared her throat. "Well, that's great, right?" she looked at Boq anxiously, "I mean, to be human again."

Boq remained silent, and Fiyero worked to take some of the attention off his friend. "So what are the chances of this thing actually working?"

"We're not sure yet," Glinda cut-in, noticing that the entire conversation was making Elphaba noticed. "It will take a lot more practice and testing, but based on the translation, I think Elphaba could make it work eventually."

"Don't bother," Boq said quietly.

"What?!" all four asked with surprise, turning to Boq.

"Elphaba, Glinda, I really appreciate your efforts, but don't bother," he said very seriously.

"Boq, are you sure?" Nessa said so quietly that the other three almost couldn't hear. "You, you wouldn't want to be human again, so we can be normal together, finally?"

"I don't want to lose you!" he said with passion. "What if it didn't work? What if we couldn't be together anymore? I've accepted what I am, Nessa. I'd much rather be like this with you than without you."

Nessa looked Boq in the eyes for a moment, communicating silently. Finally, Nessa looked up at the other three and said sternly, "We're not going to try it."

The three didn't know what to say, but fortunately Fiyero was finally smart enough to break the silence, "Alright, it's settled then. Now, how are we going to stop Morrible?"


	19. Chapter 19

And with that, the conversation about Boq ceased, and the group began to plan their attack on Morrible.

"So," Glinda sighed as they began to plan, "what do we do? Find a way to secretly hold a press conference, show the Ozians the picture of Melena in the Wizard?"

The other four remained quiet, none able to make eye contact with Glinda. The blonde looked around anxiously, feeling nervous all of a sudden. "What, did I say something wrong?" she asked again, still not meeting anyone's gaze.

Elphaba finally broke the silence, "Glinda, in all the confusion that night…between running from the guards, carrying you back here…we lost the picture."

"What?!" Glinda cried out. "So everything we did back there…that…suicide mission, was for nothing!?"

"No, not at all!" Elphaba replied hastily. "Without that mission, we wouldn't have found Nessa and Boq!" Elphaba exclaimed, but could tell that Glinda was still upset. "And I know it's not much Glinda, but it meant a lot to me…"

"What did?" Glinda asked, finally looking Elphaba in the eye.

"Seeing that picture," Elphaba sighed. "Even though it was just for a moment, being able to see a picture of my parents together, it made it so much more real to me…it meant a lot to me…"

Glinda smiled at her friend, happy that their efforts weren't completely in vain. However, Glinda realized they were back at square-one. "Alright, so what's the new plan?"

"Well," Fiyero started as he looked at Elphaba, "Elphaba and I have been talking about that the last few days, and we decided that we need to infiltrate the Wizard's palace."

"And do what exactly?" Glinda questioned.

"Well, Plan A is to find something that will prove that Elphaba is the Wizard's daughter. Maybe another photograph, a love letter to Melena, anything that can prove that she's next in line to run Oz."

Glinda nodded in agreement, but was still confused. "And Plan B?" she inquired.

"Take Morrible out," Elphaba put simply, to which Glinda couldn't help but smile.

"You sure we don't want to bump that up to Plan A?" Glinda joked, and everyone shared some nervous laughter.

After everyone became quiet again, Fiyero continued, "So Elphaba and I think we need to find a way to get inside the palace, then we'll split up-"

"Split up?!" Nessa stared at the others, thinking Fiyero was crazy.

"Well not completely split up," Elphaba sighed, trying to make Nessa understand. "But the five of us will not be able to just walk into the palace, we are some of the most recognizable and wanted faces in Oz right now!"

"Individually it will be hard enough to gain entry into the palace," Fiyero explained, "let alone a group of five. We're just one big target going in together."

"So we're just supposed to go in individually?" Nessa shook her head, obviously not buying into the idea.

"Fiyero and I had time to talk about it, and we think a group of two and a group of three," Elphaba replied to her sister. "We think it should be Fiyero and I in one group, and the three of you in the other."

"And how did you come up with those groups?" Glinda asked curiously.

"Well we figured it'd be nice to have a male in each group," Fiyero started, pointing to himself and Boq.

"…and we thought it would be helpful to have one person in each group that can do magic," Elphaba continued, nodding to Glinda, "and since you and Fiyero know the palace better than the rest of us, we thought you should be in different groups."

"Makes sense," Glinda nodded, but Nessa didn't look so pleased.

"So I'm not a guy, I can't really do magic, and I don't know my way around the palace…so I'm of no use?" Nessa said somewhat angrily.

"Of course not Nessa, that's not what we meant at all!" Elphaba exclaimed, looking to Fiyero for support.

"Although no one's forcing you to go," Fiyero added in, to which Elphaba nodded in agreement.

"No I'll go, this is my battle too," Nessa sighed, "I just feel like I won't be any help."

"Nessa," Glinda smiled, "you are one of the most quick-thinking people I know, we'll need you there."

Nessa blushed at the compliment, but obviously felt more content now.

"Boq?" Fiyero cut in, "you've been awfully quiet throughout all of this, are you okay with the plan?"

"No," Boq said shortly.

"Oh, you don't feel comfortable going?" Elphaba said with some concern.

"Oh I'm going," Boq made eye contact with Elphaba, showing her his determination, "but I think we should have three groups."

"Three groups?" Elphaba echoed, "but then someone would have to go-"

"Alone," Boq finished Elphaba's thought, "yeah, I know. I think I should go alone."

"Boq, what are you saying?" Nessa asked, wanting to talk him out of it.

"The more groups we have, the better chance we have of getting Morrible and finding what we need," Boq pointed out. "Besides, all four of you are wanted by Morrible and the guards, whereas they have no idea who I am. I have the best chance of getting in without suspicion."

"But there'd be no one else to help you," Glinda pointed out, "no one who knows their way around the palace, no one that can do magic…"

"I realize that," Boq replied seriously, knowing he was taking a big risk.

The women obviously wished Boq wouldn't put himself into that dangerous position, but Fiyero chose to verbalize his admiration for Boq's courage. "It's settled then. Boq will enter on his own, Elphaba and I will go in together, and Glinda and Nessa will go together." The five exchanged nervous glances, realizing what danger they were contemplating putting themselves in.

The group decided to wait a few days before their big mission. First, the group still needed time to recover from their injuries and lack of sleep. Second, they all understood the gravity of the mission, and what risks they were all taking, so things needed to be planned carefully. At best, the five could defeat Morrible, prove that Elphaba was the Wizard's daughter, and Elphaba became the ruler of Oz. However, the group knew they could end up dead, or worse…

"Worse than dead?" Elphaba asked with some skepticism as she and Glinda spoke as the sun set over the horizon, bringing on a peaceful twilight.

"Hello, have you met Madame Morrible?" Glinda joked, and the two best friends shared a laugh.

Fiyero had fallen asleep near the fire again, still sleep-deprived from a week of tending to the others. Boq and Nessa, on the other hand, opted to go for a walk together, to have some time alone as they watched the sunset. Therefore, Glinda and Elphaba were left alone to go over the plans for the thirtieth time.

"So Elphaba," Glinda opted to change the subject, realizing that they all had the plan down pat, "What if this actually works?"

"When this actually works," Elphaba corrected with a smile, infusing some positive thoughts into the conversation.

Glinda laughed and corrected herself, "Fine, what are we going to do when this actually works?"

"What do you mean?" Elphaba asked.

"Like when this is all over, when we stop Morrible and prove that you're the rightful ruler of Oz…what are we all going to do?"

"Well…rule Oz I guess," Elphaba smiled, not really knowing how to answer the question. "I'm sorry, I guess I still don't know what you mean."

"Well I mean a lot of different things. Like first off, do you think you and Fiyero will get married?" Glinda asked with a smile.

Elphaba seemed obviously taken aback by the question, and seemed surprised that Glinda would even want to discuss that kind of topic. But realizing that Glinda now supported their relationship, Elphaba stole a glance towards Fiyero, watching him sleep. "I…I don't know," she murmured. "I mean, we haven't talked about it, and all this happened to suddenly…"

"And do you think the citizens of Oz will accept us all, after everything that's happened?" Glinda continued onto her next question, realizing that the topic of marriage made Elphaba uncomfortable.

"Well it depends," Elphaba sighed, and Glinda realized that her friend had given this question some thought. "I think they'll embrace you with open arms, they've always loved you. I think Nessa has a bad reputation in Munchkinland, as does Boq by association. However, that's pretty limited to Munchkinland, so I think they can overcome that stereotype…"

"And you and Fiyero?" Glinda urged the question on, noticing Elphaba's pause.

"I don't know," Elphaba sighed with some sadness. "I mean, people always loved Fiyero, how can you not!" she laughed. "But I've always been an outcast, the unpopular one…and after the smear campaign Morrible has been spreading all these years, I'm worried it's too late to regain their trust…"

"Oh I don't think that's true Elphie!" Glinda consoled her friend who now looked rather discouraged. "Once they hear about the policies you'll enact, they'll have to love you!"

"Like what?" Elphaba smiled with a bit of helplessness. "I mean, of course I'll work to reinstate Animal rights, but I feel so clueless about other major issues…"

"Well like how about the Wizard's guards? There's been a lot of controversy about how they're overstepping their bounds, entering people's homes without permission, you could start with that!" Glinda offered.

"Oh, I didn't even know about that…I guess that seems wrong, but I would need more infor-"

"And what about the drought in the Vinkus? They're losing all their crops and have almost no drinking water!" Glinda was talking with a lot of passion now.

"Wow, I didn't know you knew so much about all this," Elphaba said quietly.

"Oh yes!" Glinda gushed. "I mean, spending so many years in the Wizard's palace, I got to hear a lot about all the issues. Although no one really cared about my opinion, I always paid attention." Glinda stopped as she looked over at Elphaba, immediately recognizing her lack of self-confidence. Glinda had seen this look many times before, back at Shiz, but it usually related to her physical appearance. This was the first time she ever saw Elphaba looking self conscious regarding anything intellectual, particularly political issues. "Sorry, I got carried away," Glinda sighed, "and don't worry Elphaba, I'll help you."

"Really?" Elphaba said, looking up Glinda with pleading eyes.

"Of course!" the blonde responded, feeling terrible that she had made Elphaba uncomfortable, "we're all going to help you, and you'll be just fine. And besides, I'm getting ahead of myself, we need to stop Morrible first! Now, let's go over the plan once more.

Elphaba smiled and nodded. Both women knew that they didn't need to go over the plan again, it was engrained in both of their heads from the first thirty times they discussed it. However, Elphaba was grateful for the subject change, so Glinda and Elphaba chose to discuss the plan for the thirty-first time, preparing for the challenges to come.


	20. Chapter 20

Finally, after days of resting and planning, the group decided it was now or never. They had discussed every detail of their plan so many times that they all felt confident everyone would remember. Although Glinda had claimed she felt fine from the moment she awoke from her coma, it wasn't until now that the entire group agreed that she was well enough for the mission. So now, since nothing else could be done to better prepare, the group agreed it was time to execute the plan.

The sun set below the horizon and the sky changed to a shade of dark purple, announcing the entrance of nightfall. At that moment, two large objects lifted into the air, careful to stay low and near the tree line.

The first object was Elphaba and Fiyero gliding over the treetops on her broomstick. She was in the front, her black dress rustling against the wind. Her hair was tied back so as not to whip Fiyero in the face, who was sitting right behind her, holding onto her hips for support and balance.

The second object was Glinda's bubble, which carried the blonde as well as Boq and Nessa. Elphaba had been concerned at first that it would be too much weight for the bubble to carry, but Glinda reminded her friend that she had been able to do it even when severely injured. Therefore, Elphaba conceded to letting Glinda carry both Boq and Nessa, who bunched closely towards the blonde. Boq looked his normal tin self, obviously rerunning the plan in his head as they traveled. Nessa looked a bit nervous, but felt better that Elphaba had helped strap the ruby slippers to her feet, knowing that lack of bodily control wouldn't be a problem. Glinda, despite not having access to any make-up or a brush, composed herself as much as possible, just in case she ran into anyone who didn't realize she was a fugitive.

Glinda and Elphaba transported the group slowly but steadily, not wanting to reach the Wizard's Palace until it was nearly pitch-black outside. Therefore, the group had been traveling for nearly an hour before the spires of the palace came into the view. The two women noticed that they were approaching the Emerald City at the same time, and exchanged knowing looks. Elphaba and Glinda looked at each other for a long time, knowing that this was it, this could be the last time they ever see each other. Glinda wiped a lone tear from her cheek as Elphaba smiled and nodded, silently expressing her love and confidence. You'll be alright, we'll all be alright, we can do this…but I'll miss you, Elphaba's strained smile seemed to say, and Glinda nodded in response. And with that, Elphaba and Fiyero sped off on the broom, ascending well above the tree line. Glinda slowed down slightly and watched as they moved towards the top of the Wizard's palace, entering from the same tower they had escaped from weeks earlier, the same day this whole predicament was put into action.

Glinda, on the other hand, slowed her bubble as she saw the tree cover almost ending, moving down to quietly land on the ground. She popped the bubble silently, scared to even talk and draw attention to themselves. Glinda smiled at Boq, giving him a quick hug. She then watched as Boq and Nessa embraced for a minute, sharing a last kiss. As odd as it seemed to watch Nessa kiss a man made of tin, Glinda found it heartbreaking to watch the two say a sad goodbye. Glinda turned away, giving the pair a bit of privacy, but turned back after a minute, knowing they had to keep on schedule if everything was going to work. She nodded sadly to the pair, who understood it was time to part. They hugged one last time, Nessa sobbed quietly as tears streamed down her cheeks. The two finally separated, Nessa joining Glinda in the bubble she had just conjured. Nessa buried her head in her hands as Glinda moved the bubble off the ground and away from Boq. Glinda watched as Boq slowly emerged from the forest, walking towards the palace as if he were a normal citizen. Glinda hugged Nessa as they stood together in the bubble, still too scared to talk in fear of being overheard. Besides, Glinda thought, what words could console a woman who may have just seen the love of her life for the last time? Nessa nodded in understanding, wiping her eyes and calming down as she and Glinda approached the Wizard's Palace.

As Elphaba and Fiyero infiltrated the palace through one of the towers, and as Boq tried to just walk in the front door as a concerned citizen wanting to talk to the Wizard, Glinda and Nessa pursued a third route of entry. A little-known side door, one Glinda had stumbled upon during her years at the palace, seemed like a perfect opportunity to enter unnoticed. In fact, she wasn't even sure that Morrible or the Wizard had known about the entrance, as she never saw anyone else use it, and never saw it manned by guards.

Although Glinda expected to be able to get into the palace, she didn't expect it to be so downright easy. Glinda and Nessa were able to fly the bubble right to the door, and stayed close to the palace's exterior as they moved in the door. Glinda remembered how often had casually used this entrance, usually to avoid her throngs of adoring fans, so that she could get some quiet time as was coming or going from the palace. Little did she know how much this secret entrance would now come in handy, and she became extremely grateful for such luck.

"This way," Glinda whispered so quietly that it was barely audible, but Nessa nodding in understanding. Slowly, the two women crept along the hallway, trying to move as silently as possible. However, the one thing that the group had not anticipated were Glinda's and Nessa's shoes. Both were wearing heels, but both really had no choice. Glinda had been wearing a pair of low heels when she went to see the Wizard, and had no opportunity to return to her room since. And Nessa was obviously stuck with the shoes she had, but Glinda couldn't help but wish Elphaba had magically enhanced a pair of quiet flats. Their footsteps echoed lightly against the marble floors, but Glinda did her best to edge forward.

Before long, the pair found themselves outside the Wizard's private office. Glinda had been prepared to subdue any guards that found them along the way, but was amazing to find the halls eerily empty. Although she knew she should be grateful for such circumstances, she found it odd that they hadn't crossed paths with at least one member of the guard. Oh well, Glinda smiled with a little satisfaction, maybe they're so busy out looking for us that they didn't bother to guard their home base.

Silently, Glinda pointed to the door across the hall, indicating to Nessa where they were going. Nessa nodded in understanding, and the two quickly swept across the hallway. Glinda grabbed the handle of the door, glad to have found it unlocked. The two women slipped inside, a little surprised to find it pitch black in the room. Of course, why would they have the Wizard's private office lit up if there isn't even a Wizard anymore? Glinda rationalized, and it all made perfect sense.

"Where's the light switch in here?" Nessa whispered, obviously feeling along the wall for the switch.

"No!" Glinda whispered so loudly that she quickly caught herself. "Nessa, we just need to let our eyes adjust to the darkness, we can't risk them noticing the light on!" she continued sternly, but much more quietly.

"Alright, but Glinda…I can't see a damn thing!" Nessa whispered with frustration.

Glinda agreed, it was pitch-black in the room, but the blonde tried to move her way through the room based on memory. She easily moved around the cushioned chair near the entrance, but stubbed her toe on the coffee table. Glinda did everything she could not to cry out in pain, covering her mouth with her own hand as she continued moving towards the desk. Finally feeling around with her hands, she came into contact with the Wizard's large mahogany desk. She pulled open the first drawer she found, realizing that dozens of loose papers had been shoved inside. Glinda pulled out the first piece of paper, trying to study it as best she could. However, even after being in the room for several minutes, Glinda still couldn't see her hand in front of her face. Glinda tried to move towards the window for a little light, but the moon was hidden by cloud cover. The lack of moon was helpful when we were sneaking in, but I could certainly use it now.

"Glinda!" Nessa whispered with exasperation, "I still can't see a thing, can I please turn the light on?"

With no other options, Glinda sighed lightly, "Yes, but we'll have to work fast, we want the light on for as little time as possible."

"Okay," Nessa agreed, flipping the switch she had found on the wall. The lights all came to life at the same time, with light spilling onto the entire room. Glinda gasped to see Madame Morrible standing only six inches in front of her, smirking in a way that looked almost devilish to Glinda. The blonde was about to fight back, raising her wand in defense, but a strong pair of hands grabbed her from behind, pushing a small cloth in her face, covering her nose and mouth. Glinda quickly realized that the cloth was doused in a chemical…a chemical that was causing Glinda to quickly lose consciousness. She tried thrashing around, but it was no use. Just before her eyes involuntarily closed, she was able to whirl around slightly, seeing Nessa falling unconscious into another guard's arms. Then, despite all her attempts to fight the effects of the chemical, everything went black.


	21. Chapter 21

"Glinda!" the blonde could hear voices screaming her name, the sounds ringing in her ears. Glinda could still smell the odd chemical that had been pushed in her face, but she worked to expel it from her system, breathing fresh air into her lungs. Slowly regaining control of her body, she opened her eyes to find herself in a dimly lit room. Looking around, she found herself surrounded by thick stone walls on three sides, the fourth side blocked by a set of bars. Beyond the bars was a narrow hallway followed by another jail cell, this one containing Fiyero.

"Fiyero?" Glinda said quietly, sitting up to get a better look at her friend. But she quickly realized that he hadn't been the one calling out to her name, for he was lying unconscious on the floor of his cell. Further, Glinda noticed how odd his left arm looked, bent in an odd position, and a small amount of blood had pooled around his head. "Fiyero!" Glinda cried out loudly as she stood up, moving towards the bars. Although she could reach her arm through the bars, she could not nearly reach his bars, let alone squeeze through the bars.

"Glinda?" She heard another voice ask nervously.

Looking to the cell across the hallway and to the left, she could see Boq standing next to the bars, looking over at her.

"Boq, they caught you too?!" Glinda cried out. "Are, are you okay?" she asked urgently.

"I'm alright," Boq nodded. "It's almost as if they knew exactly who we were, or were just waiting for us to show up. I got pulled inside as soon as I got to the doors. They said they were taking me to see the Wizard, but brought me straight up here and threw me in a cell. Elphaba and Fiyero weren't far behind me…"

"Where's Elphaba?" Glinda said in a panic now.

"I'm here Glinda," Elphaba could hear a voice in the cell next to her, and could see a green hand sticking out from the cell across from Boq's.

"Elphaba, are you alright?" Glinda called out, unable to see her friend's condition.

"I'm fine," Elphaba sighed, "we got into the tower, but as soon as we opened the door to the stairs, we were bombarded with guards. We were actually fighting them off quite well too, until Fiyero was attacked by three guards at once. I think he was hurt pretty badly, can you get a good look at him?" Elphaba asked with concern.

"He's unconscious," Glinda reported, "and it looks like he has a broken arm, and is bleeding."

"Sweet Oz…" Elphaba murmured, obviously not realizing that his injuries were so bad.

"But he's definitely breathing," Glinda commented, seeing his chest rising and falling, "I think he's okay."

"Okay," Elphaba tried to breathe a sigh of relief, but was obviously still as nervous as Glinda and Boq.

"And where's Nessa?" Glinda asked, still looking around for the last member of the group.

"She's here," Elphaba commented, "I think she's in the cell next to me. She was unconscious when they brought you two in, but she looked unharmed. What happened to you two?"

"We made it to the Wizard's private office, but they were waiting for us, Morrible and her guards. They knocked us out with some chemical, and that's all I remember."

"Morrible called the guards away for a minute, but they'll be right back," Boq informed Glinda, his voice filled with frustration. "We haven't got much time, we need to get out of here!" Boq said with sudden anger, pulling at his cell bars with all his might. Surprisingly, the bars bent slightly under the pressure, creating a slightly larger hole in between the bars.

"Boq, you just bent the bars!" Elphaba exclaimed with excitement.

"Keep going Boq!" Glinda encouraged, and Boq obliged. Pulling hard at the bars for a minute or two, he had managed to create a decent-sized hole in between the bars.

"They won't move any more!" Boq cried as he tugged at he bars to no prevail.

"Can you squeeze through?" Elphaba asked anxiously. "Try it quickly Boq, the guards will be back any minute!"

"I…I can't, I'm too big!" Boq said with frustrating, his round torso too large to fit in between the bars.

Glinda tried pulling on her bars, knowing she'd be small enough to fit through a hole that size, but realized that being a man of tin is probably what gave him the strength to bend the bars.

"It's no use!" Glinda cried in frustration.

"Well maybe Fiyero can try his luck at the bars when he wakes up!" Elphaba suggested, obviously low on ideas.

"Yeah, with a broken arm?" Glinda pointed out, feeling like the situation was completely helpless. "Face it, we've got two women who aren't strong enough to do anything, two people are just unconscious, and one person who's too big to fit through the bars."

"Glinda? Elphaba? Boq?" the trio heard a female voice call out groggily, a voice quickly recognizable as Nessa.

"Nessa!" Glinda cried out, unable to see her friend, but happy to hear she was awake.

"I'd be able to fit if I was a Munchkin," Boq said quietly to himself, obviously deep in thought.

"Nessa, Nessa are you alright?!" Elphaba asked her sister urgently, not hearing what Boq had just said. However, Glinda picked up on what he said, and knew exactly what he was thinking.

"Boq, no! We'll think of something else, we didn't practice enough! Remember what happened to the tin can!" Glinda tried to talk some reason into Boq.

However, Boq just shook his head at Glinda, then turned to Elphaba's cell. "Elphaba!" he called out, getting her attention. "I need you to do the spell."

"Spell?" Elphaba asked, "what spell?"

"He thinks he could fit through the bars if he were a Munchkin…"

"I know I can!" Boq interrupted Glinda, looking at Elphaba with determination. "Do the spell Elphaba, I'll be able to fit through the bars if it works."

"IF it works!" Nessa emphasized. "Boq," she said more quietly, "you can't do this, what if it doesn't work? I can't lose you."

"We're all going to lose each other if I don't do this. Don't you understand, we're all going to die here! Now do the spell Elphaba, do it!"

Although Glinda could not see Elphaba's face, he could hear her sigh loudly as she had run out of reasons not to try, run out of other ideas. Slowly, Elphaba focused all her attention on Boq, and began slowly chanting the incantation.

Glinda kept her eyes on Boq as she listened to Elphaba completing the spell. Although she couldn't see Elphaba, Glinda could hear the focus, drive, and determination in her voice, clearly concentrating on the task at hand. However, despite Elphaba's obvious focus, Glinda could sense the undertone of nervousness in her friend's voice. It wasn't obvious, and Nessa and Boq probably didn't pick up on it. But Glinda and Elphaba had a special connection, she could sense when Elphaba wasn't feeling at her best.

Nevertheless, Elphaba continued the spell, Boq and Glinda standing quietly as Nessa sobbed quietly in her cell. After about thirty seconds of non-stop chanting, Elphaba finished the spell. She breathed heavily, the efforts and concentration tiring her out quickly. Everyone watched Boq, waiting for some kind of reaction to take place.

At first it seemed like nothing was happening, and Glinda sighed with frustration. Then suddenly, even in the dimly lit room, she noticed how tired Boq looked. She saw him slump down slightly, grabbing his chest as he tried to lean against the bars. He suddenly moaned in pain, letting his body fall against the back wall of his cell, where it was too dark for anyone to see him.

"Boq?" Nessa called desperately, where Glinda could see her reaching out from her own cell towards Boq's.

However, Boq did not respond. In fact, all they could hear was the sound of him writhing in pain, out of the women's eyesight.

"Elphaba! Elphaba, he's in pain, do something!" Nessa pleaded to her sister.

"I don't know what to do Nessa, I don't have the Grimmerie with me!" Elphaba cried out in a helpless panic. Glinda was also trying to think of any magic that could help rescue Boq, but nothing came to mind without the help of her wand, which was sitting on the far wall at the end of the dungeon. As Glinda tried to think of a solution, she stopped suddenly when she saw billowing red smoke emitting itself from Boq's cell. Glinda stood with her mouth hanging open, still unable to see past the smoke and the darkness of the cell.

"Elphaba, what's happening?" Nessa demanded, sounding nervous and hopeful at the same time.

"I…I don't know! That didn't happen when we practiced!" Elphaba cried, sounding truly worried now.

"But all those times you said the spell worked the way it was supposed to…" Nessa trailed off.

"There was no smoke Nessa," Glinda conceded, feeling certain that something had gone wrong.

Suddenly, an ear-piercing howl of pain erupted through the room, and the women could hear the distinct sound of metal being crushed.

"Boq!" Nessa screamed, and all three women felt equally helpless. They were all only a few feet from Boq, yet they couldn't be there for him, couldn't help him. They could only listen to his screams as he laid alone in his cell.

Suddenly the cries of pain ceased and the smoke stopped pouring out of Boq's cell. Glinda started crying at this, realizing what the sudden silence represented.

"No…no, he can't be…" Elphaba refused to believe what she knew everyone in the room was thinking.

Glinda tried to strain her ears, listening for any sounds from Boq's cell, but nothing could be heard over Nessa, whose sobs had quickly dissolved into all out bawling. Even in the next cell, Glinda could hear Elphaba sobbing quietly.

"Nessa, Nessa I am so sorry!" Elphaba cried. "Oh Boq," she continued to cry as she reached out to Boq's cell," I can never forgive myself."

"Elphie, don't blame yourself," Glinda said quietly in between sobs. "He knew what he was risking, it was his choice," she leaned back against the far wall of her cell, sliding down to the ground slowly. "Besides, that was our last chance. Our fates are sealed, we'll be seeing Boq again soon enough…."


	22. Chapter 22

"What the…what happened?" the trio of women heard a male voice say, and everyone turned to Fiyero's cell, assuming he had woken up.

"Fiyero?!" Elphaba called, unable to see into his cell. But Glinda knew better. Able to see straight into his cell, she could see that Fiyero was still unconscious and unmoving, still in the same position he's been in when Glinda woke up.

"It's not Fiyero," Glinda murmured, and everyone's attention returned to Boq's cell.

"Boq?" Elphaba asked quietly with a mix of doubt and hope, watching with Nessa and Glinda as the red smoke slowly dissipated. Slowly but surely, a silhouette appeared through the smoke, a figure moving towards the bars. Slowly but surely, the women were able to see through the smoke to see Boq, looking down at his own tin body.

"Boq!" all three cried with excitement, not believing that he had survived the spell. Boq however, looked more upset than anything.

"All that pain, for nothing?!" he said, looking at his tin body.

"Boq, don't worry about that!" Glinda cried incredulously, "we all thought you were…were…"

"Dead?" he finished Glinda's sentence. "Well we all will be soon because I still can't get through these bars!" Boq said harshly, slamming his hand against the cell wall angrily. To everyone's shock, the tin arm fell off, leaving a human arm underneath.

Glinda sat down on the cell floor, in shock. For a moment she thought Boq's arm had completely fallen off, but was awed to see the human appendage sticking out of his tin body. Glinda could hear Elphaba gasp in the next cell, then heard a loud thud coming from a place Glinda couldn't see.

"Boq, your arm! Wait, what was that noise?!" Glinda asked anxiously.

"Nessa, she fainted," Boq looked over to her cell, "I think she was just shocked, I think she thought I lost my arm. But she didn't hit her head or anything."

"Boq," Elphaba murmured, still in shock, "the spell…it worked?! Are you in pain?"

"No," Boq replied casually, working to remove the other tin arm. Before long, he had pried all the tin parts off his body and now looked exactly like the Munckin Boq that Glinda and Elphaba remembered, even wearing the same outfit he had been wearing the day Elphaba transformed him in the first place.

"Thank Oz the spell worked!" Elphaba sighed, obviously having been holding her breath the entire time Boq.

"Boq, can you get through the bars?" Glinda urged him.

"I've got this," Boq smiled with a new bout of confidence. And true to his word, Boq slid easily through the bars.

"Wonderful Boq! Now, be careful, but we need you to go find the key. Take my wand for protection!" Glinda encouraged, pointing to her wand at the end of the room.

"Take my broom too!" Elphaba encouraged, pointing to the worn broom sitting next to Glinda's wand. Boq rushed to the end of the dungeon, picking up both items. He took one lasting look at Nessa, who was still unconscious in her cell, and took a deep breath.

"Well, wish me luck!" he smiled nervously, then passed through the dungeon doorway, closing the door behind him.

Glinda watched Boq disappear on the other side of the dungeon door, realizing he was their last hope. But until he came back, all she could do is comfort her friends and pray for his safety. However, with half of her friends still unconscious, Glinda turned her attention to Elphaba.

"So, what are we going to do if Boq is actually able to get the key?" Glinda sighed, still unable to see Elphaba due to the stone wall between them.

"Well hopefully we can get these two to wake up, I don't think we can go slowly enough to carry them and not get caught."

Glinda nodded, not stopping to think that Elphaba could not he her silent gesture. Silence set in, and Glinda looked out of her cell at Fiyero. Although she didn't see any movement other than the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest, she did notice that he was in a different position than before. Glinda took that as a good sign, a sign that he was hopefully starting to wake up. However, Glinda knew that Nessa's and Fiyero's consciousness was probably the least of their problems.

"And what if Boq doesn't come back?" Glinda asked quietly.

"Then we're screwed," Elphaba said bluntly, causing Glinda to laugh a bit. The reality was cold and harsh, and Glinda appreciated that Elphaba was keeping her dry humor to the bitter end. However, Elphaba did take a moment to be serious. "Really though, we're all locked up in these little cells, half of us are unconscious, and our broom and wand have now walked out the door. Not to mention we don't have the Grimmerie."

"Right," Glinda said in frustrated agreement. The decision to leave the Grimmerie in the forest had seemed like the right idea at the time, for they didn't want it to fall into Morrible's hands if they were caught. Therefore, Elphaba and Glinda had memorized as many spells as they could, anything they thought would have been helpful. However, they now found themselves in a situation where those spells were useless, making Glinda feel very helpless.

"But…" Elphaba started again quietly, in a voice that Glinda found very uncharacteristic of her friend, "if this is the end…thank you, for everything you've done for me. And I'm sorry for the things I've done you blame me for…you are the only friend I've ever had."

"Oh Elphie," Glinda sighed, wishing she could pull her friend in for a hug. "We can't think like that, we have to stay positive…but you know you're my best friend, and how much you mean to me…but that's why we can't give up Elphie! Not on this fight, and not on each other!"

Just then, a low moan could be heard in the cell directly across from Glinda, and she rushed over to the bars to get a better look. She watched as Fiyero moved around groggily, trying to sit up without putting weight on his broken left arm.

"Fiyero?!" Elphaba asked with excitement and an undertone of nervousness, trying to get a good look into his cell.

"Fiyero, can you hear us?" Glinda watched Fiyero as he still moved slowly, but saw him make quick eye contact with her, nodding slowly as he worked on standing up. "Fiyero, are you sure you're alright, you're bleeding…"

"Well I think it's safe to say my arm is broken," he said as he held his left arm in place with his right, "and the back of my head is pounding, so I'm guessing that's where the blood's coming from. But yeah, I'm alright," he said dully.

"Here," Glinda offered, ripping off the bottom few inches of her dress so that it only came to the knees. "Make a sling out of this," she instructed, tossing the cloth between the bars to Fiyero. He caught it without trouble, and quickly fashioned a makeshift sling.

"What?" Fiyero looked up at Glinda as she couldn't help but stifle a laugh.

"I'm sorry…it's just…you're wearing a bright pink sling," she laughed, thankful for something to break the overwhelming tension. Fiyero rolled his eyes at Glinda, and the blonde could only guess that Elphaba was doing the same thing in her cell. The mental image caused Glinda to break down into an even bigger fit of laughs, her giggles echoing off the stone walls.

Suddenly, the whole group looked up as they heard a door slam. Leaning against the door was Boq, tired and out of breath. He held Elphaba's broom and Glinda's wand in one hand, and a large ring of keys in the other. Glancing around the room, looking both excited and frightened at the same time, he gasped, "It's time to go!"


	23. Chapter 23

"Boq, you're not made of tin anymore!" Fiyero said incredulously.

Glinda rolled her eyes, "Fiyero, that is old news, catch up!"

Elphaba remained serious, "Boq, what happened, how did you get the keys?"

Boq dropped the wand and broom at the door, rushing first towards Elphaba's cell, trying to find the right key to unlock the cell. "Let's just say there's a very unhappy and unconscious guard in a nearby broom closet. But he's going to wake up soon, or be found even faster, so we've got to be quick." He started working feverishly to find a key that looked like it would fit the hole in the cell door, trying five or six different keys before the door finally swung open. Elphaba offered Boq a quick hug of thanks before running over to Fiyero, kissing him through the bars, thrilled to see that he was alright.

Meanwhile, Boq ran over to Glinda's cell while holding the same key in his shaking hands. Glinda wondered whether he was shaking due to nerves of being caught or adrenaline from taking out a guard, but Glinda admired him either way.

Boq cursed under his breath, causing all three to look over at the Munchkin anxiously. "Boq, what's wrong?" Glinda asked.

"I…I just assumed the same key would open up all the cells…" he sighed, looking with frustration at the ring of at least twenty keys.

"It doesn't?" Elphaba asked incredulously, grabbing the keys from Boq. She quickly tried the key on Glinda's cell, using all her energy to fit the key into the lock, then stomped her foot in anger. "Shit," she mumbled, causing Glinda and Fiyero to exchange quiet looks of worry. Elphaba looked up at Glinda, whispering, "we may be in trouble here…."

In fact, it took nine key attempts before Elphaba could unlock Glinda's cell, and Elphaba quickly turned to start working on Fiyero's cell. While they waited, Glinda and Boq went to each of the two dungeon doors, edging the doors open just enough to make sure the coast was still clear.

"I…I can't find the key," Elphaba said with frustration, "I swear I've tried them all!"

"Try the long silver one," Glinda could hear Fiyero encouraging, but she could also hear the undertone of worry in his voice.

However, Glinda quickly sighed in relief as she heard Elphaba say, "Thank Oz, got it…" and released Fiyero from his cell.

Just as Fiyero walked out of his cell and Elphaba moved towards Nessa's cell with the keys, Glinda heard Boq slam his door shut and immediately bolted it. "Guys! Problem!" he exclaimed.

All three looked at Boq anxiously, watching him lean against the door, which was suddenly being banged on from the other side. Glinda looked out her doorway at the other end of the dungeon, seeing that her hallway was still empty.

"We're clear here, but we have to go, they obviously know something's up now," Glinda said quickly.

"But what about Nessa?" Elphaba said, staring down at her unconscious sister.

"Glinda's right…we have no time, we need to go now!" Fiyero agreed with the blonde.

"But-"

"No buts!" Fiyero interrupted Boq, pushing everyone towards the door. "She's probably safer in here anyway. We'll bolt the door behind us, and they can't get to her without these keys anyway."

It pained all four of them to sprint out of the room, Nessa still laying unconscious on the floor of her cell. But Fiyero and Glinda were smart enough to know they needed to be strong for Boq and Elphaba, and Glinda silently vowed that she would come back for Nessa, that they would save her.

Elphaba and Glinda picked up their broom and wand respectively, then quickly ushered themselves and the men out the door. They bolted the dungeon door behind them, making sure that Boq held tightly to the ring of keys. With that, the four friends shuffled quickly down the hallway. They knew they needed to move slowly enough to stay quiet, but were also aware that guards would be attempting to access this door at any moment. So the group moved to the end of the hallway, making a quick left so that they were no longer able to see the door to the dungeon.

"This way!" Fiyero whispered, pushing the group down a second hallway to the left and up a flight of stairs. The group could hear footsteps in the distance behind them, assumingly on their way to the dungeon. Therefore, as much as the group hated leaving Nessa in the dungeon, they knew they had made the right decision so that all five of them wouldn't be trapped.

Fiyero continued to pull the group through winding halls, up and down different flights of stairs. Elphaba and Boq looked utterly confused, but Glinda knew exactly where they were going. She had walked these halls so many times in the last few years that she had its entire geography memorized. In fact, Glinda was surprised by Elphaba's look of confusion, having taken this path at least twice before.

Suddenly the hallway opened up into a large room, with ceiling vaulted so high that their limits disappeared into a dark abyss. Boq slowed down, in awe of the large room with a mechanical head looming in the dead center of the room. However, the other three had already seen this room before, and did not seem nearly as overwhelmed by its vastness. However, Glinda couldn't help but think, this is where it all began. This is where Elphaba made the decision to qualify Morrible as a life-long enemy. This is where Fiyero and Elphaba left me. Despite the fact that those were some of the most momentous and eventful days of Glinda's life, they all seemed trivial now as the four friends prepared to fight for their lives.

Fiyero ran to the cupboard he knew existed at the back of the room, emptying it of its small arsenal of weapons. He started passing them out to the group, making sure to keep a gun for himself.

"Wait," Boq said, looking around, "there's no other way out of this room."

"Right," Glinda nodded, feeling like the Munckin was stating the obvious.

"And…and we're just going to wait here, for them to come to us?" Boq asked again.

"Exactly," Elphaba said, not taking her eyes off the entrance to the room.

"And we'll be trapped in here?" Boq asked incredulously, looking at the trio as if they were suicidal.

"Yep," Fiyero nodded, also staring at the hallway.

Boq stood quietly for a minute, looking back and forth between Elphaba, Glinda, and Fiyero. Finally he just threw his arms in the air and yelled, "Are you people crazy?!"

"Probably," Elphaba smiled, looking at her friends with a smile.

"Think about it Boq," Fiyero said, obviously the person in the room with the most tactical experience from his work as Captain of the Guard. "There's no windows and only one way in. They can't surprise attack us, we'll be able to see exactly where they're coming from. Besides, I knew these weapons would be here."

"And what if they outnumber us?" Boq looked at their faces as he heard footsteps approaching, footsteps that must have belonged to more than four guards.

"Then it will be all the more incredible when we defeat them," Fiyero smiled, preparing for battle.

Boq swallowed nervously, and apprehensively raised his weapon. Each member of the group stood at the ready, prepared for the fight as more than a dozen guards began to file into the room.


	24. Chapter 24

Glinda looked around to her friends as the guards slowly marched forward, yet still too far away for an attack. The four stood shoulder to shoulder, spread out slightly so as not to be one large target. She first looked at Boq, who seemed to be trembling because he was so nervous. But Glinda's admired that he never wavered, and even now looked ready for battle.

Looking and Fiyero and Elphaba nearly broke Glinda's heart, and she could even see the wetness in Elphaba's eyes. As much as they all tried to exude confidence, she knew they were wordlessly saying goodbye to each other. Their chemistry and energy radiated to the point where Glinda wondered why she hadn't seen it from the beginning, and knew she was insane for ever trying to come between them. Even Glinda's eyes became wet as she saw them mouth I love you to each other.

Glinda turned her attention back to those sent to kill her, counting out approximately a dozen guards. Three-to-one ratio, Glinda counted out quickly. Well I can certainly handle three of these goons, Glinda thought smugly, remembering how poorly trained these guards often were. Or that's what she tried to convince herself, knowing the odds were clearly not in their favor.

The two groups stared each other down, clearly sizing each other up, waiting to see who would make the first move. The silence was deafening, and everyone looked almost afraid to move a muscle, knowing that the slightest twitch could start a war. But Fiyero seemed smart enough to know the war would come eventually, and he opted to make the first move. Resting the gun on his slinged arm so he could fire with his strong arm, the gun went off with a large bang, the roar of the discharge echoing throughout the cavernous room, and Glinda watched as one of the guards in the center of the group fell to the ground with a thud.

"Charge!" the head guard cried angrily, and the remaining guards began to hurry towards the fugitives.

"Now!" Fiyero matched the head guard's confidence as he cried out, and the other three braced themselves for impact. Fiyero had the opportunity to fire his gun two more times before the guards became close enough for hand-to-hand combat, bringing the ratio to nine-to-four.

Glinda started twirling her wand angrily as the first guard charged at her, brandishing a large weapon with a blade at each end. Glinda was able to stop his thrashing attempts with the help of her wand, and finally extended a leg to push him back. She turned just long enough to see Elphaba reciting a spell under her breath that sent two guards crashing backwards into a wall.

Just then Glinda saw a second guard charging at her, as the first one regained his footing and was now in pursuit. Glinda conjured a bubble at just the right moment, causing both to bounce off its edges. She hovered above the ground, out of the guards' reach, casting a spell to stop one of the two guards simultaneously attacking Boq.

Looking further around the room, she saw Fiyero almost directly below her, trying to reload his gun with only one good arm. Sparing a moment to concentrate on the gun, he hadn't even noticed the guard standing behind him, holding a long knife directly above his head.

"No!" Glinda cried out, popping her own bubble despite being 8 feet in the air, falling strategically to land on the guard. Tackling him successfully, Glinda cried out in pain as the guard's knife forced a deep cut into Glinda's foot as she landed. Glinda limped back up in an immense amount of pain, glad to see her efforts had not been in vain as the guard lay crumpled on the ground below her.

"Ah!" Glinda heard another cry of pain, and turned to see Elphaba holding a wound in her abdomen as she took down a guard with the help of her broom. Glinda became nervous, seeing her and her friends take injuries as they fought the guards. However, glancing around, Glinda could only see three guards left remaining conscious. Glinda became excited and almost celebratory until she saw movement out of the corner of her eye.

Looking to the large hallway, Glinda could see a pair of piercing eyes staring at her from the dimly lit hallway, and immediately knew that eyes that cold could only belong to Madame Morrible. However, Glinda gasped as her eyes finally noticed the rest of the scene. Being held in a near chokehold by Madame Morrible was Nessarose. She was certainly awake now, but was clearly gasping for air as Morrible held her neck unforgivingly, Nessa's feet barely able to touch the ground. Morrible smiled and pulled Nessa away into the depths of the hallway.

Glinda turned to make sure her friends were alright before moving to pursue Morrible and Nessa. Boq and Fiyero seemed to be cleaning the floor with the last three guards, and seemed to have the situation under control. Then Glinda's eyes briefly met Elphaba's, and the blonde realized that Elphaba had seen the same thing. Still holding her abdomen, Elphaba ran to catch up to Glinda. Therefore, as Fiyero and Boq finished fighting off the flurry of guards, Glinda and Elphaba pursued Morrible through the hallway and up the stairs to the tower.

Although Glinda's foot was throbbing and Elphaba was bleeding from the abdomen, the two women moved in unison with a new vigor as they pursued Morrible. Even though they were injured, Glinda and Elphaba moved very quickly, yet were still surprised to find themselves struggling to catch up to Morrible and Nessa. Finally, however, the women found themselves climbing into the highest tower of the palace, both realizing there was nowhere else for Morrible to run. Although the women were worried they were walking into a trap, they knew they had to keep going, that they owed Nessa that much.

Finally reaching the top of the stairs and moving through the tower doorway, the pair found themselves struggling to see. Only lit by a few torches, the room was immersed in shadows, making the entire room look dark and ominous. However, despite the lack of light, Glinda could still see Morrible's silhouette at the other end of the room. Her eyes seemed to glow yellow through the darkness, as if it were some kind of outward manifestation of her evil nature. Nessa was also across the room, being gripped tightly around the neck by Morrible.

"There's no one else in here," Elphaba mumbled to Glinda as quietly as possible without taking her eyes off of Morrible, realizing that there were no guards waiting for them in the room.

"That's right," Morrible replied, who was either reading Elphaba's mind or had a truly acute sense of hearing. "It's just the four of us. No one else to help you…no one here to hear you scream."

Glinda shuddered at just the thought of her friends screaming in pain, but kept her wits about her, "Yes that's a shame…they'll miss us screaming with excitement when we defeat you."

"Your naivety and stupidity always amused me Glinda," Morrible smirked. "Too bad I'm going to have to kill you."

"You will not touch a hair on her head!" Elphaba said protectively, stepping slightly in front of Glinda.

"Oh miss Elphaba, we meet again, it's been quite a while. Your sister and I were just talking about you," Morrible smiled diabolically as she motioned to a breathless Nessa. "I was just pointing out to her that I think you've grown even greener and uglier than the last time I saw you."

Glinda could hear Elphaba breathe angrily, but could also see herself shrink back slightly, her self-confidence wavering even in situations like this. Glinda stepped by her side, grabbing her hand for support.

"You need to give up now," Glinda said calmly, "you know that you're not the rightful heir to Oz, Elphaba is."

Morrible laughed harshly. "Poor Elphaba. Poor sad, lonely, misunderstood Elphaba," she said sarcastically. "After all this time, she finds out she is the daughter of the Wizard and the sole heir to the Ozian throne. Too bad all of Oz hates her."

"That will change," Glinda interrupted.

"Hardly," Morrible came back venomously. "First, with the Wizard's death, there is no way to prove that Elphaba is actually his daughter. Second, she won't live to see the dawn, let alone have time to live long enough to win over the citizens of Oz."

"We shall see," Glinda said angrily, preparing for battle.

Morrible took notice of Glinda's stance, her wand pointing out in front of her. While holding Nessa by the throat with one hand, she made a fluid set of motions with her other hand as she mumbled a spell under her breath. Elphaba and Glinda braced themselves, mumbling a set of counter-spells at the same time. All three women finished their incantations at the same time, and they could all see and feel their magical energies converging in the middle of the room. Morrible held out her hand to control her magic, while Glinda and Elphaba used their wand and broom respectively to do the same. Glinda's and Elphaba's magic seemed to rival that of Madame Morrible, and they were all stuck in a dead heat. All three women began to tired, struggling not to lose all their energy on their spells.

Madame Morrible looked extremely frustrated, and threw Nessa down on the ground so she could use both hands to control her magic. Apparently this made a significant difference to her magical control, as both Glinda and Elphaba began to cry out in pain. The two women felt themselves being lifted up into the air against their will, both writhing in extreme pain as Morrible tortured them, almost as if she enjoyed watching their pain before finishing them off.

"Now all of Oz shall be mi-"

Morrible had begun to claim victory, but suddenly stopped mid-sentence. Glinda and Elphaba both fell to the floor, no longer experiencing the piercing pain of Morrible's spell. Looking up, Glinda saw Nessa standing over Morrible's unconscious body, having delivered a particularly effective right jab when Morrible had forgotten her presence.

Glinda and Elphaba regained their footing quickly, pointing their wand and broom at Morrible's body in case she immediately woke up. When she didn't, Glinda looked at Nessa incredulously. "Nessa, you just saved us!"

Nessa never took her eyes off of Morrible's crumpled body on the floor, muttering under her breath, "TRAGICALLY beautiful my ass!"


	25. Chapter 25

Elphaba quickly moved to tie Morrible up with some loose rope found in the tower, making certain to tie her arms behind her back to severely limit her magical powers when she woke up. Elphaba then stood up, and Glinda noticed she was looking a little pale.

"Elphaba, your injury, are you alright?" Glinda looked concerned.

"Yeah, I think so," Elphaba smiled awkwardly.

"Well I'm going to run downstairs and find something to bandage it with…and someone should go check on the boys anyway," she smiled, remembering how they were cleaning the floor with those guards when she last saw them. "Will you two be okay up here?"

"We'll be fine," Nessa smiled, still staring down at Morrible.

Glinda smiled at her friend, saying, "To think Nessa, you thought you'd be helpless here. But in the end you saved us all." Nessa finally looked up from Morrible to glance at Glinda and Elphaba, beaming with a sense of pride.

With that, Glinda turned from the room, moving down the narrow tower staircase. She picked up her speed as she neared the Wizard's inner chamber. Hearing her shoes echoing off the stone floors as she entered, she was stunned to find no sign of Boq or Fiyero. However, she managed a sigh of relief when she saw a large pile of guards' bodies pushed into the corner of the room. I'm sure they're fine, they're just running around the palace looking for us, Glinda decided, and chose to go looking for them.

"Fiyero? Boq?" Glinda called out as she paced through the hallway, trying to think of the most likely place they would go looking for the women. She was about to make her way back to the dungeon, thinking maybe they had gone back to rescue Nessa, but she heard a noise coming from a nearby room.

"Boq? Fiyero, is that you?" Glinda called out timidly, suddenly realizing there may be more guards waiting for her throughout the palace.

However, Glinda breathed a sigh of relief as she heard a male voice she discerned to be Fiyero's call out, "Glinda?"

Glinda smiled as she followed the voice until she found herself in the Wizard's personal study. Boq and Fiyero were standing at the Wizard's desk, looking up at Glinda as they held a book between the two of them.

"Thank Oz you're both alright," Glinda finally let herself emit a real sigh of relief. Fiyero's arm was still in a sling, Boq was now sporting a black eye, and both looked like they had taken a pretty good beating. But they were okay, and that's all that mattered to Glinda.

"Where's Elphaba?" Fiyero asked with sudden concern.

"And we couldn't find Nessa in the dungeon!" Boq said with an equal amount of worry.

"She's fine, they're both fine," Glinda smiled. "Elphaba has a cut in her abdomen, but it's nothing serious. And Nessa stopped Morrible, she saved us all!" Both men stared at Glinda in stunned silence, causing the blonde to laugh at the pair. "So while we were up in the tower defeating the most powerful woman in Oz, you two decided to catch up on some light reading?"

Fiyero finally remembered the book in his hands and rolled his eyes at Glinda's joke. "We found this in the Wizard's desk, take a look," he said, rushing it over to her. Glinda skimmed the page he had marked, and Glinda gasped at what she read. "We need to show this to Elphaba," Glinda said quickly, and the three quickly vacated the room to head back to the tower.

Glinda led the way through the winding hallways and up the stairs, making sure to stop and grab some cloth along the way that would work as bandaging for Elphaba's injury. As the trio entered the tower, they could see that Morrible was now awake. Fortunately, she was still tightly tied down by the rope, and Elphaba continued to point her broom at Morrible defensively. Hugs we shared around the group as it became clear that everyone was alright, that they had all survived. Glinda watched as Nessa and Boq kissed for the first time since he became human again, and glanced over to see Fiyero tending to Elphaba's injury. Finally bringing her attention to Morrible, Glinda took the opportunity to address her.

"It seems you have underestimated us," Glinda smiled. "For you see, there is nothing naïve, stupid, ugly or tragic about us."

Morrible snarled angrily, still sneering at the group. "You may have stopped me, but what makes you think that you have won? You have no proof that Elphaba is the rightful ruler to Oz! No one will believe you, no one will accept it!"

"That's where you're wrong Morrible," Elphaba smiled as she turned to address their prisoner. "You see this little dot on the end of my broom? It's a microphone that Glinda was smart enough to implant before coming here." Elphaba mumbled a few words of an incantation, and the room was suddenly echoing with the booming sound of Morrible's voice.

"Poor Elphaba. Poor sad, lonely, misunderstood Elphaba. After all this time, she finds out she is the daughter of the Wizard and the sole heir to the Ozian throne."

Elphaba mumbled a few more words and the recording stopped. Elphaba looked smugly at Morrible, making the old woman realize that she had triggered her own demise.

However, Morrible smiled back, and quickly started chanting loudly.

Glinda had thought Morrible's magic was relatively powerless without the use of her hands to control the magic, but clearly her powers were beyond that. "Gag her!" Glinda yelled, and Boq quickly ran forward to cover up Morrible's mouth. But the old woman was able to finish her spell just in time, and Elphaba's broom exploded into a million splinters of wood, falling to the ground pathetically.

"Hey!" Elphaba said turning to Morrible, "that was my favorite broom! That really wasn't very nice of you, Morrible," Elphaba taunted, a smile never leaving her face as she stared at their powerless captive. "Fortunately enough for us, Glinda was smart enough to outfit her wand with a microphone too."

Glinda nodded proudly, mumbling a few words of her own before her wand started emitting Morrible's cold words. Although Morrible could no longer speak, Glinda was pleased to see the look of shock and defeat in her eyes, and Glinda knew they had won.

"And now we have this," Glinda smiled, holding the small book out to Elphaba.

"What is it?" Elphaba asked.

"It was the Wizard's personal journal, Boq and Fiyero found it in his office."

Elphaba took the book delicately in her hands, knowing it was the key to her past, a container of her father's memories. Glinda turned the book to the appropriate entry, and Elphaba read aloud:

Melena contacted me this morning, telling me it was crucial we met at our favorite café. She looked utterly distraught when I found her there, and she was quick to tell me why. She was pregnant. And with my child! I was beyond thrilled, for I've always longed to be a father. However, my moment of joy quickly turned to anger and sorrow when she told me she didn't plan on keeping the baby. This turned into the biggest fight we've ever had, and the entire thing played out in the silly little café, in front of the staff and everything! I tried to convince her that we could make it work, to start a life together with our child, but she was adamant that she was getting rid of the baby. I told her I couldn't be with someone who would do such a thing to my child, to OUR child, and I stormed out. I hope things calm down and we can see each other again soon, although I'm doubtful. But at the very least, I hope she reconsiders what I said, and has the child…

Elphaba's voice trailed off, a tear rolling down her cheek. Glinda placed a hand on Elphaba's, trying to console her friend.

"Oh Elphaba, don't cry, please don't be sad."

"I'm not," Elphaba whispered. "He never realized I was his daughter…and he wanted me. He wanted me Glinda! Ever since you told me I was his daughter, I was in such pain thinking about what a terrible father would ostracize his daughter like he did. But he didn't know either, and he actually wanted me! He wanted to be a father! And without his arguing with my mother, I don't think I would exist."

Glinda smiled at Elphaba's wonderful revelation, pulling her friend for a hug. She could hear Elphaba sobbing loudly on he shoulder, and worked to comfort her friend, "Shhhh, it's okay Elphaba, everything's alright now." And it was.


	26. Chapter 26

The Wizard's funeral was strange to say the least. Elphaba had chosen not to announce that she was his daughter until after the funeral, so that there would not be gossiping and speculation during the entire event. Therefore, she was forced to hide in the back of the room during the formal event, but had the opportunity to stay after all the citizens had filed out. Elphaba slowly approached her father's casket, tears streaming down her cheeks. She walked by the rows of now-empty seats, save Boq, Nessa, Fiyero and Glinda. Boq and Nessa sat together in the front row, Nessa ready to run up and comfort Elphaba at a moment's notice. Glinda and Fiyero sat in the back to give Elphaba privacy in her mourning, as they spoke quietly.

"I still can't believe everything that's happened the last few weeks," Fiyero sighed, looking up at Elphaba as she leaned over the casket.

"It's amazing how much things can change…so what's in store for you next? Will you go back to being Captain of the Guard now that Elphaba will be the ruler of Oz?"

Fiyero moved his gaze from Elphaba and placed it on the blonde. "No, I don't think so," he sighed.

"Really?" Glinda asked with some surprise.

"After everything that's happened these last few years, I'm ready to be out of the public eye. I've gone from being Captain of the Guard to outlaw in a matter of days, I'm through with that rollercoaster."

"Well that will be a little difficult with your girlfriend running Oz," Glinda smiled.

"Girlfriend," he sighed, "I hate that word…."

Glinda sat silently, not completely understanding what Fiyero meant, but trying to listen thoughtfully.

Fiyero turned and saw Glinda's look of confusion. "It just sounds so juvenile and trivial…she means so much more to me than that."

"Then maybe you should tell her that," Glinda offered.

"But what if she said no? You know how she can pull away…and I wonder if becoming ruler of Oz will tear us apart." Fiyero looked down at the ground, showing his own self-doubt.

"Oh Fiyero, don't say that," Glinda placed an arm on his shoulder. "She loves you, and if you asked her, I almost guarantee she would say-"

"Glinda?" a voice interrupted, and the blonde looked up to see Elphaba approaching. Her eyes were a little red from crying, but she seemed relatively calm now. "Glinda, could I talk to you for a moment?"

Glinda grabbed one more look at Fiyero, but then turned to her friend warmly, "Sure." Glinda stood up to greet her friend with a hug, and then the two sat down at a nearby pair of chairs. Fiyero was still in earshot of the conversation, but Glinda could tell whatever Elphaba was going to say was meant for her.

"Are you, are you doing alright?" Glinda asked, stealing a glance at the Wizard's casket.

"Yes…I mean no, but I will be," Elphaba sighed, to which Glinda nodded in understanding. "Anyway, there's something important I need to talk to you about."

"Okay…" Glinda murmured, becoming nervous by Elphaba's level of seriousness.

"I've been thinking a lot the last few days…about making the announcement to Oz about who I am, and about the heir to the Ozian throne…" Elphaba trailed off, obviously very nervous.

"Oh don't be nervous about that Elphaba. Of course the citizens will be confused and concerned at first, but you'll win them over, I'm sure-"

"Oh that's not what I'm worried about," Elphaba interrupted, gaining a confused look from Glinda. She paused for a long time, but then took a deep breath, ready to blurt it out, "I want you to rule Oz."

"Wait, what?" Glinda shook her head in confusion, convinced she must have misunderstood.

"I want you to rule Oz," Elphaba repeated more slowly, not taking her eyes off her friend.

"Wait, no, I don't understand…"

"I'm not cut out for that kind of life, ruling over all those people, and I'm not sure I want a life like that anyway. And I don't know enough about all this political stuff-"

"But I said I would help you with those things!" Glinda protested.

"I know you did…but this job is meant for you, not for me. You are so independent and smart, you were destined for this Glinda."

Independent? Smart? A few weeks ago, those would have been two of the last words Glinda would have used to describe herself. But now, sitting across from her best friend, she couldn't help but embrace the compliments, knowing how much she had proven to herself in the last few weeks.

"I may be destined for a role like this, but you were BORN into a role like this," Glinda corrected, not wanting to take Elphaba's birthright away from her.

"I don't care," Elphaba said quickly. "Listen, you don't have to take it if you don't want it, there's no pressure here. But we'd all be here to help you…Nessa, Boq, Fiyero and I. And trust me Glinda, this isn't a rash decision, I thought long and hard about it. I am asking you as a friend and someone I have the utmost respect for: will you rule Oz?"

Glinda sat their for a long time, staring at Elphaba. She also caught a glance at Fiyero who looked stunned by Elphaba's revelation. But he quickly smiled and nodded at Glinda, showing that he agreed with Elphaba's comments.

"You're…you're sure?" Glinda still couldn't believe what was happening. She really respects and trusts me enough to rule all of Oz?

Elphaba nodded, not a trace of worry or regret in her face.

Seeing the look on her friend's face was the last piece of encouragement she needed. "Alright…I'll do it!" Glinda smiled, and Elphaba pulled her in for a grateful and congratulatory hug. But quickly, Glinda pushed back, looking Elphaba in the eye, "On one condition!"

"Name it," Elphaba said, smiling.

"As my first act as the new ruler of Oz, I'll get to preside over your ceremony!"

"My…ceremony?" Elphaba was completely confused. "I don't understand, what ceremony?"

Glinda looked over to Fiyero, who seemed to understand exactly what the blonde was saying. Although he looked more nervous than anything, he stood up and walked towards the pair. Glinda smiled and vacated her chair, taking a few steps back as Fiyero knelt next to Elphaba.

Elphaba looked at Glinda in confusion, but then turned her attention to Fiyero. "Fiyero, what's going on?"

"You know I love you more than anything, right?" Fiyero asked, looking at Elphaba longingly.

"Of course, and I love you too," she smiled, forgetting her confusion, her thoughts obviously were only of him now.

"Elphaba," he began seriously, still kneeling in front of her, "you make me so happy, everyday. And back when you left and went into hiding, it felt like someone had torn my heart out."

"I know that," Elphaba said with a tone of guilt, "but I'm here now…"

"And I never want to lose you again," Fiyero continued, "not even for a moment."

Elphaba could only sit in silence, holding her breath as Fiyero proclaimed his love for her.

"I want you to the first person I see every morning, and the last person I see when I go to sleep. Not just now, but for the rest of my life." Fiyero paused for a moment, expelling any nerves before looking Elphaba in the eyes and asking, "Elphaba, will you marry me?"

Elphaba gasped at his proposal. Even though he had been kneeling in front of her, and even though he had been pouring his heart out to her, his proposal of marriage truly caught her off-guard. She stared at Fiyero for a moment, letting his question sink in. "I never thought that would even be an option," she murmured. "I thought we'd always be on the run, I thought we'd never have the opportunity to just be…normal."

Fiyero continued to look at Elphaba with anxious eyes, for he was holding his breath now. Elphaba stared at him for a moment, tears welling up in her eyes. Then she smiled, taking his hands in hers, "Of course I'll marry you!"

Fiyero was grinning from ear to ear as he jumped up, pulling Elphaba into a hug so strong that her feet were no longer touching the ground. Glinda, Nessa, and Boq looked on admiringly as Fiyero and Elphaba embraced, kissing passionately. Finally calming down, they turned to face their friends, smiles on their faces as Fiyero had his arm around Elphaba.

"Congratulations!" Glinda squealed, running up to give Elphaba a hug, and Nessa and Boq went to congratulate Fiyero. "Now Elphie, I'm picturing the ceremony in a big canvas tent…it'll be pink of course. And pink flowers everywhere, especially roses! And we'll have to find Nessa a pink bridesmaid dress, which will go rather well with her shoes! And-"

"Glinda!" Elphaba smiled with fake exasperation.

"What?" Glinda smiled back, and the two hugged once more.

It was only a few weeks later that Glinda found herself standing at the end of end of a long aisle. Very few people sat in the small tent, including a few college friends, a few of Fiyero's friends from his work as Captain of the Guard, a few of Elphaba's Animal friends, and of course Fiyero's parents. Glinda laughed as she looked at them, remembering what an odd reunion that had been earlier in the day.

"Hello Lenora, Harold," Glinda had bowed lightly at their presence, "it's lovely to see you again."

"Oh hello Miss Upland," Harold said happily.

"Or should we say, your highness," Lenora said dryly, bowing down to the newly declared ruler of Oz.

"Oh, please, don't," Glinda felt strange having Fiyero's parents, a king and queen, bowing to her.

"You know, it should've been you walking down the aisle today," Harold let out a jolly laugh.

Glinda knew he hadn't meant it that way, but she did make a point to correct him. "Elphaba and Fiyero are my two best friends, and they are very much in love. They are soul mates and will be together always."

And even now, Glinda thought those words as she stood in front of the small room of guests. Fiyero stood at her side, grinning from ear to ear, and Boq stood next to him as the best man. Glinda looked up to see Nessa walking down the aisle in a dark purple dress, carrying a small bouquet of purple roses. Glinda watched as Boq looked lovingly at Nessa, admiring the diamond ring on her finger. She remembered when Boq had knelt down on one knee only an hour before the ceremony, how they had embraced happily.

But once again, Elphaba was brought back to the present as the guests stood up, looking towards the back of the tent. As a string quartet played quietly in the background, Elphaba began to step down the aisle slowly. She was a vision in a an ivory gown that brushed against the ground. Her hair was pulled, thanks to help from Glinda, to accentuate her neck and shoulders, a lace veil cascading down her back. She walked alone, paying tribute to the man who couldn't be with her today, the father who had always wanted a daughter, who would have appreciated her for who she was. Nessa stopped and stood next to Glinda, serving as maid of honor. The four stood and watched with smiles as Elphaba moved towards them slowly, finally stopped in front of Glinda, taking Fiyero's hand as she approached.

The ceremony was perfect, everything Elphaba and Fiyero deserved. Glinda spoke lovingly of her two friends, how they were destined to be soul mates for life. "I have known these to for many years, and I can say without any doubt that these two are meant for each other, and deserve every ounce of love they have for one another."

The couple lovingly said their "I do's", causing Elphaba to tear up slightly. They then exchanged vows, which had Elphaba, Glinda, Nessa, and even Boq needing tissues.

"And I say to all of you," Glinda continued, "if there's anyone here with a reason why these two should not be married, speak now or forever hold your peace." However, Glinda only waited a moment before saying, "Face it, if I'm not going to say anything, no one else is."

Elphaba and Fiyero laughed through their tears of happiness, and Glinda smiled. "So, by the power vested in me by…well, me…I now pronounce that they are husband and wife. You may now kiss your bride," Glinda smiled at Fiyero. The groom didn't need to be told twice, pulling Elphaba in for a passionate kiss, to which the string quartet started up again and the guests clapped happily.

The remainder of the ceremony and reception were beautiful, just the way Glinda planned the night for the newlyweds. Hours later, she watched happily from her table as she watched Fiyero and Elphaba dancing, with Nessa and Boq also dancing nearby. Glinda took another bite of wedding cake as she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Glinda Upland? I mean, your highness?"

"Glinda's fine," the blonde responded, "how can I help you?" She turned and almost choked on her cake at the sight of an incredibly handsome man, probably only a few years older than her.

"Actually I just wanted to re-introduce myself. My name is Anton, I was one of the Wizard's advisors…I believe we met once or twice before, in the palace."

"Oh yes, wonderful to see you again." Glinda couldn't help but smile from ear to ear as she talked to him, and she could not stop gazing as his gorgeous eyes.

"Anyway, I just wanted to introduce myself, as I'm sure we'll be working together a lot at the palace, and…well anyway…I was hoping you'd like to dance."

"That would be wonderful," Glinda smiled as she stood, joining her friends for a dance. As she looked at Elphaba, Fiyero, Boq, Nessa, and now Anton, she saw everything was going to be just fine.

THE END


End file.
